•ffti 


\RY    OF 


University  of  California. 


:•:.:  aa     cr  ?>. 


You  dare  set  your  foot  into  the  house  of  the  Hohenzollerns  ?  "  asked  the  spectre  in  a  hollow, 

menacing  voice.  P.  83. 


-A.  I*  O  L  !£  O  JV      I  JS       Gr  J£  14  JV1  -A.  .N'  V 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


HISTORICAL    NOVEL. 


BY 


L.   MUHLBACH, 


AUTHOR    Ot 

UAITOHTKB    OF   AN   EMPRESS,"    "MARIE    ANTOINETTE,"    "JOSEPH    II.    AND   HIS   COURT,"    "  FREnERICK 
THE   GREAT  AND    HIS    FAMILY,"    "  BERLIN    AND   SANS-SOUCI,"    ETC..    ETC. 


TKANSLATED   FKOJI  THE  OKHJIAN,   BY 


F.    JORDAN. 


COMPLETE         IN         ONE        VOLUME 


u3  PT 


NEW    YORK: 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

1,    3,    AND    5    BOND    STREET. 
1892 


ENTERED,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  186T,  by 

D.   APPLETON  &  CO., 

La  the  Clork'8  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  01 

New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


NAPOLEON  AT   DRESDEN. 

FAGB 

JHAP.  L— Frederick  William  and  Hardenberg,  5 

II.— The  White  Lady,      ...  14 

III.— Napoleon  and  the  White  Lady,          .  18 

IV.— Napoleon  at  Dresden,         .          .  28 

V.— Napoleon's  High-born  Ancestors,      .  33 

VI.— Naooleon's  Departure  from  Dresden,  37 


THE   LAST   DAYS   OF   1812. 

VII.— The  Conspirators  of  Helgoland, 
VIII. — The  European  Conspiracy,       . 
IX.— Gebhard  Leberecht  Blucher, 
X.— Recollections  of  Mecklenburg, 
XI.— Glad  Ti  .  . 

XH.-The  Oath, 


CHANCELLOR  VON   HARDENS  BUG. 

X III.— The  Interrupted  Supper,     .           .  78 

XIV.— The  Defection  of  General  York,          .  82 

XV.— The  Wan.'                             .           .  87 

XVI.— The  Diplomatic.                        .           .  fcj 

XVII.— The  Clairvoyantc,     .                      .  98 

XVIII.— An  Advc.m                        .            .            .  102 

XIX.— The  Two  Diplomatists       .           .  112 

XX.— The  Attack 119 

XXI.—  The  Courier's  Return,          .           .  125 


THE  VOLUNTEERS. 

XX  I! -The  Manifesto,    . 
XXII I  .—Leonora  Prohaska,    . 
XXIV.— Joan  of  Orleans, 

XXV.— The  National  Representatives, 


\VAH    ANT)    AN    ARMISTICE. 
XXVI.— Theodore  K<~nicr. 


KXVIL-The  Herok  Tailor. 


130 

m 

189 

14T, 


155 
161 


CHAP.  XXVIII.— The  General-in-Chief  of  the 

Silesian  Army,  .  .      16c 

XXIX.— The  Ball  at  the  City  Hall  of 

Breslau,       .          .          .109 

XXX.— The  Appointment,  .        .  .    175 

X  X  X  I.— After  the  Battle  of  Bautzen,         180 

XXXII.— Bad  News,  .          .          .184 

XXXm.— The  Traitors,  .  .  .         190 

XXXTV.— Napoleon  and  Metternich,        .    193 


DELIVERANCE   OF   GERMANY. 

XXXV.— On  the  Katzbach,      .          .  199 

XXXVI.— Blncher  as  a  Writer,      .  .    203 

XXXVII.— The  Revolt  of  the  Generals,  206 

X  X  X  Vm.— The  Battle  of  Leipsic,         .  211 

XXXIX.— The  Nineteenth  of  October,  .    217 


HANNIBAL  ANTE   PORTAS. 

XL.— Blucher' s  Birthday,  .           .  228 

XLI.— Passage  of  the  Rhine,    .  .    232 

XLIL—  Napoleon's  New-Year's-Day,  238 

XLin.— The  King  of  Rome,        .  .    243 

XLIV.-Josephine,      ...  248 

XLV.-Talleyrand,           .           .  .    251 

XLVI.— Madame  Lctitin,  253 


FALL  OF  PARIS. 

XLVIL— The  Battle  of  La  Rothiere,  .    266 

XT.VIIT .-The  Diseased  Eyee,  .           .  271 

XI. IX.— On  to  Paris  I        .           .  .270 
L.— Departure  of  Maria  Louisa, 
LI.— The  Capitulation  of  Paris, 
L1I.— Night  and  Morningnear  Paris,     289 

LI  1 1. —Napoleon  at  Fontaineblean,  293 

LTV.— A  Soul  in  Purgatory,           .  296 


NAPOLEON    AND    BLUCHER 


NAPOLEON   AT   DRESDEN. 


CHAPTER    I. 

FREDERICK   WILLIAM    A.XD   HARDEN7BERG. 

IT  was  a  fine,  warm  day  in  May,  1812.  The 
world  was  groaning  under  the  yoke  of  Napoleon's 
tyranny.  As  a  consolation  for  the  hopeless  year, 
came  the  laughing  spring.  Fields,  forests,  and 
meadows,  were  clad  in  beautiful  verdure ;  flowers 
were  blooming,  and  birds  were  singing  every- 
where— even  at  Charlottenburg,  which  King  Fred- 
erick William  formerly  delighted  to  call  his 
"  pleasure  palace,"  but  which  now  was  his  house 
of  mourning.  At  Charlottenburg,  Frederick  Wil- 
liam had  spent  many  and  happy  spring  days  with 
Queen  Louisa ;  and  when  she  was  with  him  at  this 
country-seat,  it  was  indeed  a  pleasure  palace. 

The  noble  and  beautiful  queen  was  also  now 
at  Charlottenburg,  but  the  king  only  felt  her 
presence — he  beheld  her  no  more.  Her  merry 
remarks  and  charming  laughter  had  ceased,  as 
also  her  sighs  and  suffering;  her  radiant  eyes  had 
closed  forever,  and  her  sweet  lips  spoke  no  more. 
She  was  still  at  Charlottenburg,  but  only  as  a 
corpse.  The  king  had  her  mausoleum  erected  in 
the  middle  of  the  garden.  Here  lay  her  coffin, 
and  room  had  been  left  for  another,  as  Frederick 
William  intended  to  repose  one  day  at  the  side  of 
his  Louisa. 


From  the  time  that  the  queen's  remains  had 
been  deposited  there — from  that  day  of  anguish 
and  tears — the  king  called  Charlottenburg  no 
longer  his  "  pleasure  palace."  It  was  henceforth 
a  tomb,  where  his  happiness  and  love  were  buried. 
Still,  he  liked  to  remain  there,  for  it  seemed  to 
him  as  though  he  felt  the  presence  of  the  spirit 
of  his  blessed  queen,  and  understood  better  what 
she  whispered  to  his  soul  in  the  silent  nights 
when  she  consoled  him,  and  spoke  of  heaven  and 
a  renewed  love.  The  bereaved  husband,  how- 
ever, did  not  prefer  to  dwell  hi  the  magnificent 
abode  of  his  ancestors,  where  he  had  formerly 
passed  in  spring  so  many  happy  days  with  his  be- 
loved Louisa.  He  had,  therefore,  a  small  house 
near  the  palace ;  it  was  into  this  plain  and  hum- 
ble structure  that  he  had  retired  with  his  grief- 
stricken  heart.  Here,  in  his  solitude,  he  had 
already  passed  two  springs. 

The  second  year  had  nearly  elapsed  since  the 
queen's  death,  and  Frederick  William's  heart  was 
still  overburdened  with  sorrow,  but  yet  he  had 
learned  what  time  teaches  all  mortals — he  had 
learned  to  be  resigned.  Yes,  resignation  in  these 
melancholy  days  was  the  only  thing  that  remained 
to  the  unfortunate  King  of  Prussia.  It  was  a 
sad  and  difficult  duty,  for  he  had  lost  happiness, 
love,  greatness,  and  even  his  royal  independence 


6 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


It  is  true,  he  was  still  called  King  of  Prussia,  but 
he  was  powerless.  He  had  to  bow  to  the  de- 
spotic will  of  Napoleon,  and  scarcely  a  shadow:«f 
ais  former  greatness  had  been  left  him.  The  days 
of  Tilsit  had  not  yet  brought  disgrace  and  humili- 
ation enough  upon  him.  The  Emperor  of  the 
French  had  added  fresh  exactions,  and  his  arro- 
gance became  daily  more  reckless  and  intolerable. 
In  the  face  of  such,  demands  it  only  remained  for 
Frederick  William  to  submit  or  resist.  He  looked 
mournfully  at  his  unhappy  country ;  at  those 
whom  the  last  war  had  deprived  of  their  husbands 
and  fathers ;  at  his  small  army ;  at  the  scanty 
means  at  his  disposal,  compared  with  the  resources 
of  Napoleon,  and — the  king  submitted. 

He  had  indeed  hesitated  long,  and  struggled 
strongly  with  his  own  feelings.  For,  by  submit- 
ting to  Napoleon's  behests,  he  was  to  become  the 
open  enemy  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and  the 
King  of  Prussia  was,  jointly  with  the  Emperor  of 
the  French,  to  arm  against  the  Emperor  of  Rus- 
sia. It  was  a  terrible  necessity  for  Frederick 
William  to  sacrifice  his  friend  to  his  enemy,  and 
at  the  very  moment  when  Alexander  had  offered 
his  hand  for  a  new  league,  and  proposed  to  con- 
clude an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with 
Prussia  and  England. 

But  such  an  alliance  with  distant  Russia  could 
not  strengthen  Prussia  against  neighboring  France, 
whose  armies  were  encamped  near  her  frontiers. 
The  danger  of  being  crushed  by  Napoleon  was 
much  more  probable  than  the  hope  of  being  sup- 
ported by  Russia.  Russia  had  enough  to  do  to 
take  care  of  herself.  She  was  unable  to  prevent 
France  from  destroying  Prussia,  if  Napoleon  de- 
sired, and  the  crown  might  fall  from  the  head  of 
Frederick  William  long  before  a  Russian  army  of 
succor  could  cross  the  Prussian  frontier.  He 
submitted  therefore,  and  accepted  with  one  hand 
the  alliance  of  France,  while  threatening  her  with 
the  other. 

On  the  24th  of  February,  1812,  the  Prussian 
king  signed  this  new  treaty.  As  was  stipulated 
by  the  first  article,  he  entered  into  a  defensive 
alliance  with  France  against  any  European  power 
with  which  either  France  or  Prussia  should  here- 


after be  at  war.  Napoleon,  the  man  who 
broken  Queen  Louisa's  heart,  was  now  the  friend 
and  ally  of  King  Frederick  William,  and  the  ene- 
mies of  France  were  henceforth  to  be  the  enemies 
of  Prussia ! 

It  was  this  that  the  king  thought  of  to-day, 
when,  in  the  early  part  of  May,  he  was  alone,  and 
absorbed  in  his  reflections,  at  his  small  house  in 
Charlottenburg.  It  was  yet  early,  for  he  had 
risen  before  sunrise,  and  had  been  at  work  a  long 
time,  when  he  ceased  for  a  moment  and  yielded 
to  his  meditations.  Leaning  back  in  his  easy 
chair,  he  gazed  musingly  through  the  open  glass- 
doors,  now  on  the  serene  sky,  and  again  on  the 
fragrant  verdure  of  his  garden. 

But  this  quiet  relaxation  was  not  to  last  long  ; 
the  door  of  the  small  anteroom  opened,  and  the 
footman  announced  that  his  excellency  Minister 
and  Chancellor  von  Hardenberg  requested  to  see 
his  majesty. 

"  Let  him  come  in,"  said  the  king,  as  he  rose, 
turning  his  grave  eyes,  which  had  become  even 
gloomier  than  before,  toward  the  door,  on  the 
threshold  of  which  the  elegant  and  somewhat 
corpulent  form  of  the  chancellor  of  state  ap- 
peared. He  bowed  respectfully.  His  noble  and 
prepossessing  countenance  was  smiling  and  ge- 
nial as  usual ;  the  king's,  grave,  thoughtful,  and 
sad. 

"  Bad  news,  I  suppose  ? "  asked  the  king, 
briefly.  "  You  come  at  so  early  an  hour,  some- 
thing extraordinary  must  have  happened.  What 
is  it?" 

"Nothing  of  that  kind,  your  majesty,"  said 
Hardenberg,  with  his  imperturbable  smile.  "  Yet, 
it  is  true,  we  are  constantly  in  an  extraordinary 
situation,  so  that  what  otherwise  might  appear 
unusual  is  now  nothing  but  a  very  ordinary  oc- 
currence." 

"  A  preamble  ! "  said  Frederick  William, 
thoughtfully.  "  You  have,  then,  to  tell  me  some- 
thing important.  What  is  it?  Take  a  seat  and 
speak  !  "  The  king  pointed  to  a  chair,  and  re- 
sumed his  own.  Hardenberg  seated  himself,  and 
looked  down  for  a  moment  with  an  air  of  em- 
barrassment. 


had 


FREDERICK   WILLIAM   AND   HARDEXBERG. 


"Any  thing  the  matter  in  Berlin  ?  "  asked  the 
king.  "  Perhaps,  a  quarrel  between  the  citizens 
and  the  French  ?  " 

"  No,  your  majesty,"  said  Hardenberg,  to  whose 
thin  lips  came  his  wonted  smile.  "  The  people 
of  Berlin  keep  very  quiet,  and  bear  the  arrogance 
of  the  French  with  admirable  patience.  I  have 
to  report  no  quarrels,  and,  on  the  whole,  nothing 
of  importance ;  I  wished  only  to  inform  your 
majesty  that  I  received  a  courier  from  Dresden 
late  last  night," 

The  king  started,  and  looked  gloomy.  "  From 
whom  ?  "  he  asked,  in  a  hollow  voice. 

"  From  our  ambassador,"  replied  Hardenberg, 
carelessly.  "  Surprising  intelligence  has  reached 
Dresden.  They  are  expecting  the  Emperor  Na- 
poleon. He  left  Saint  Cloud  with  the  Empress 
Maria  Louisa  on  the  9th  of  May,  and  no  one  knew 
any  thing  about  the  object  or  destination  of  the 
journey.  It  was  generally  believed  that  the 
emperor,  with  his  consort,  intended  to  take 
a  pleasure-trip  to  Mentz,  but  immediately  after 
his  arrival  there  he  informed  his  suite  that  he 
was  on  his  way  to  a  new  war,  and  would  ac- 
company his  wife  only  as  far  as  Dresden,  where 
they  would  meet  their  Austrian  majesties.  Cou- 
riers were  sent  from  Mentz  to  Vienna,  to  Dresden, 
to  King  Jerome,  and  to  all  the  marshals  and  gen- 
erals. The  columns  of  the  army  have  commenced 
moving  everywhere,  and  are  now  marching  from 
all  sides  upon  Dresden.  As  usual,  Napoleon  has 
again  succeeded  in  keeping  his  plans  secret  to  the 
very  last  moment,  and  informing  the  world  of  his 
intentions  only  when  they  are  about  to  be  real- 

i/r.l." 

."  exclaimed  the  king,  in  a  tone  of  intense 
hatred  and  anger — "  yen,  he  wears  a  kind,  hypo- 
critical mask,  and  feigns  friendship  and  pacific 
intentions  until  he  has  drawn  into  his  nets  those 
whom  he  intends  to  ruin  ;  then  he  drops  his  mask 
and  shows  his  true  arrogant  and  ambitious  face. 
He  caressed  us,  and  protested  his  friendship,  until 
we  signed  the  treaty  of  alliance,  but  now  he  will 
insist  on  the  fulfilment  of  the  engagements  we 
have  entered  into.  He  commences  a  new  war, 
ai  1,  by  virtue  of  the  first  article  of  our  treaty,  I 


ai  1,  by  virl 


have  to  furnish  him  an  auxiliary  corps  of  twenty 
thousand  men  and  sixty  field-pieces." 

"  Yes,  your  majesty,  it  is  so,"  said  Hardenberg, 
composedly.  "  The  new  French  governor  of  Ber- 
lin, General  Durutte,  came  to  see  me  this  morn 
ing,  and  demanded  in  the  name  of  his  emperor 
that  the  Prussian  auxiliary  troops  should  imme- 
diately take  the  field." 

"  Auxiliary  troops  ! "  exclaimed  the  king,  an- 
grily. "  The  Prussian  victims,  he  ought  to  have 
said,  for  what  else  will  my  poor,  unfortunate  sol- 
diers be  but  the  doomed  victims  of  his  ambition 
and  insatiable  thirst  for  conquest  ?  He  will  drive 
them  into  the  jaws  of  death,  that  they  may  gain 
a  piece  of  blood-stained  land,  or  a  new  title  from 
the  ruin  of  the  world's  happiness ;  he  does  not 
care  whether  brave  soldiers  die  or  not,  so  long  as 
his  own  ambition  is  served." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hardenberg,  solemnly,  "  his  path 
leads  across  corpses  and  through  rivers  of  blood, 
but  the  vengeance  of  God  and  man  will  finally 
overtake  him,  and  who  knows  whether  it  may  not 
do  so  during  this  wild  Russian  campaign  ?  " 

"  My  evil  forebodings,  then,  are  proving  true," 
said  the  king,  sighing  ;  u  the  expedition  is  directed 
against  Russia  ?  " 

"  Yes,  against  Russia,"  said  Hardenberg,  sneer- 
ingly  ;  "  the  master  of  the  world  intends  to  crush 
Russia  also,  because  she  ventured  to  remain  an 
independent  power,  and  the  Emperor  Alexander 
was  so  bold  as  to  demand  the  fulfilment  of  the 
promises  of  Tilsit  and  Erfurt.  Providence  is  al- 
ways just  in  the  final  result,  your  majesty.  It 
punishes  the  Emperor  Alexander  for  suffering 
himself  to  be  beguiled  by  the  flatteries  and  prom- 
ises of  Napoleon,  and  the  territories  which  he 
allowed  Napoleon  to  give  him  at  Tilsit,  at  the 
expense  of  Prussia,  will  be  no  precious  stones  in 
his  crown." 

"  Not  a  word  against  Alexander  ! "  exclaimed 
the  king,  imperiously.  "  However  appearances 
may  be  against  him,  he  has  always  proved  a  true 
friend  of  mine,  and  perhaps  especially  at  a  time 
when  we  suspected  it  the  least.  His  keen  eyes 
penetrated  the  future,  and  behind  the  clouds  dark 
ening  our  horizon  he  believed  he  could  desert 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


light  and  safety.  He  yielded,  in  order  to  lull  Na- 
poleon to  sleep ;  he  pretended  to  be  fascinated, 
in  order  to  convince  him  of  his  attachment 
and  devotedness.  He  wished  to  be  regarded  as 
Napoleon's  friend  until  he  had  armed  himself,  and 
felt  strong  enough  to  turn  against  the  usurper. 
Hush  !  do  not  contradict  me.  I  have  heard  all 
this  from  Alexander's  own  lips.  On  his  return 
from  Erfurt  he  confided  the  plans  of  his  future  to 
me  and  tbe  queen,  under  the  seal  of  secrecy. 
Louisa  carried  the  secret  into  her  grave,  and  I 
have  preserved  it  in  my  breast.  Now  I  may  com- 
municate it  to  you,  for  the  hour  of  decision  has 
come ;  it  finds  me  on  the  side  of  France,  and 
God  has  decreed  that  I  should  turn  my  arms 
against  my  friend,  against  Alexander  !  Ah,  happy 
the  queen,  because  she  did  not  live  to  see  this  day 
and  witness  my  new  humiliation  and  disgrace ! 
And  was  it,  then,  unavoidable  ?  Was  it,  then, 
really  necessary  for  me  to  enter  into  this  hateful 
alliance  ?  Was  there  no  way  of  avoiding  it  ?  " 
And  as  the  king  put  this  question  to  himself 
rather  than  to  Hardenberg,  he  laid  his  head 
against  the  back  of  his  easy-chair,  and  looked 
gloomy  and  thoughtful. 

"  There  was  no  way,  unfortunately,  of  avoiding 
it,"  said  Hardenberg,  after  a  short  pause.  "  Your 
majesty  knows  full  well  that  we  submitted  to 
stern  necessity  only ;  to  act  otherwise  would  have 
been  too  dangerous,  for  the  crown  on  the  head 
of  your  majesty  would  have  been  menaced." 

"  It  is  better  to  lose  the  crown  and  die  a  free- 
man than  live  a  crowned  slave ! "  exclaimed  the 
king,  impetuously. 

"  No,  pardon  me,  your  majesty,  for  daring  to 
contradict  you,"  said  Hardenberg,  smiling;  "it 
is  better  to  keep  the  crown,  and  submit  to  neces- 
sity as  long  as  possible,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
take  future  revenge  on  the  oppressor.  At  times 
I  am  likewise  tortured  by  the  doubts  and  fears 
now  disquieting  the  noble  soul  of  your  majesty. 
But  at  such  hours  I  always  repeat  to  myself,  in 
order  to  justify  our  course,  a  few  words  from  the 
letter  which  the  Duke  de  Bassano  addressed  to 
our  ambassador,  Baron  von  Krusemark,  as  the 
ultimatum  of  the  Tuileries.  I  have  learned  this 


letter  by  heart,  and,  if  you  will  graciously  permit 
me,  I  will  repeat  a  few  words."  The  king  nodded 
assent,  and  Hardenberg  added  :  "  This  letter  read : 
'  My  dear  baron,  the  moment  has  come  when  we 
must  give  you  our  views  about  the  fate  of  Prussia. 
I  cannot  conceal  from  you  that  this  is  a  matter  of 
life  and  death  for  your  country.  You  know  that 
the  emperor  entertained  already  at  Tilsit  very  un. 
friendly  intentions  against  Prussia.  These  inten- 
tions still  remain  the  same,  but  will  not  be  car- 
ried out  at  this  time,  on  the  condition  that  Prus- 
sia become  our  ally,  and  a  faithful  one.  The 
moments  are  precious,  and  the  circumstances 
very  grave.' "  * 

"  An  outrageous  letter  ! "  muttered  Frederick 
William  to  himself. 

"  Yes,  an  outrageous  letter,"  repeated  Harden- 
berg, bowing,  "  for  it  contained  a  serious  threat, 
and  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  offered  us  a  sort  of 
guaranty.  Prussia  was  lost,  in  case  she  refused 
to  join  the  alliance,  for  Austria  had  likewise  ac- 
ceded to  it,  and,  by  holding  out  against  the  wishes 
of  France,  Prussia  would  have  run  the  risk  of 
being  crushed  by  two  armed  enemies  in  the  north, 
as  well  as  in  the  south,  and  blotted  out  from  the 
list  of  nations.  We,  therefore,  were  obliged  to 
submit ;  we  had  no  other  choice." 

"  But  what  did  we  gain  by  submitting  ?  "  asked 
the  king,  angrily.  "  In  order  to  preserve  my 
people  from  the  horrors  of  war,  I  bowed  to  Napo- 
leon's will,  and  accepted  the  disgraceful  alliance. 
I  thereby  wished  to  secure  peace  to  my  unfortu- 
nate country,  which  stands  so  greatly  in  need  of 
it.  Instead  of  attaining  this  object,  the  alliance 
plunges  us  into  the  very  abyss  which  I  intended 
to  avoid,  and  I  am  compelled  to  send  my  soldiers 
into  the  field  for  an  unjust  cause  against  a  mon- 
arch who  is  my  friend,  and  under  the  orders  of  a 
commander-in-chief  who  is  my  enemy,  and  has 
always  shown  his  bitter  hostility  to  me." 

"  But  your  majesty  has  at  least  prevented  yotu 
own  country  from  being  devastated  by  war.  It 
is  true,  you  send  out  your  army,  but  the  war  will 
not  lay  waste  the  fields  of  Prussia ;  it  will  no1 

*  "  M6molres  <Tun  Homme  d'fitat,"  vol.  xi.,  p.%824. 


FREDERICK  WILLIAM   AND   HARDEXBERG. 


9 


trample  in  the  dust  the  crops  of  the  Prussian 
farmer,  interrupt  the  labors  of  the  mechanic,  or 
carry  its  terrors  into  our  cities  and  villages,  our 
houses  and  families.  The  enemy  is  at  least  far 
from  our  own  country." 

"  You  only  wish  to  palliate  the  calamity,"  ex- 
claimed the  king.  "  The  enemy  is  here,  and  you 
know  it.  He  is  dogging  every  step  of  ours  ;  he 
is  listening  to  every  word  of  mine,  and  watching 
every  movement.  An  inconsiderate  word,  an  im- 
prudent step,  and  the  French  gendarmes  will 
rush  upon  me  and  conduct  the  King  of  Prussia  as 
a  prisoner  to  France,  while  no  one  can  raise  his 
hand  to  prevent  them.  We  have  the  enemy  in 
Berlin,  in  Spandau,  and  in  all  our  fortresses.  Our 
own  soldiers  we  have  to  send  into  the  field,  and 
our  cities  and  fortresses  are  occupied  by  French 
garrisons.  An  army  of  four  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  infantry  and  seventy  thousand  cavalry 
cover  Prussia  like  a  cloud  of  locusts ;  Berlin, 
Spandau,  Konigsberg,  and  Pillau,  have  received 
French  garrisons;  only  Upper  Silesia,  Colberg, 
and  Graudenz,  have  remained  exempt  from  them. 
The  whole  country,  as  though  we  were  at  war,  is 
exposed  to  the  robberies,  extortions,  and  cruelties 
in  which  an  enemy  indulges  :  this  time,  however, 
he  comes  in  the  garb  of  a  friend  ;  and,  as  our  ally, 
he  is  irritating  and  impoverishing  the  farmers, 
and  plundering  the  mechanics  and  manufacturers. 
And  I  am  not  only  obliged  to  suffer  all  this  in 
silence,  but  I  must  send  my  own  soldiers,  the 
natural  defenders  of  our  states,  into  a  foreign 
country,  and  command  them  to  obey  the  man 
who  has  heaped  the  vilest  insults  not  only  on 
myself,  but  on  the  whole  of  Prussia,  and  has 
broken  the  heart  of  my  beloved  wife ! "  And 
the  kinjr,  quite  exhausted,  breathless  with  his  un- 
usually long  speech,  and  almost  ashamed  of  his 
own  tremulous  excitement,  buried  his  face  in  his 
hands  and  groaned  aloud. 

Hatdenberg  gazed  upon  him  for  a  moment 
with  an  expression  of  profound  sympathy;  he 
then  looked  around  the  room  with  searching 
glances,  which  seemed  to  pierce  every  niche, 
every  fold  of  the  curtains,  and  every  piece  of  fur- 
niture and  sculpture.  "  Is  your  majesty  sure 


that  no  one  can  hear  and  watch  us  here?"  be 
asked  in  a  low  voice. 

The  king  dropped  his  hands  from  his  face,  and 
looked  at  him  in  surpri 

"  Your  majesty,  you  yourself  say  that  you  are 
surrounded  by  spies  and  eavesdroppers,"  added 
Hardenberg.  "Does  your  majesty  suspect  any 
such  to  be  here  ?  " 

"No,"  said  the  king,  with  a  mournful  smile, 
"  it  is  the  last  blessing  of  my  Louisa  that  she  has 
secured  me  this  quiet  asylum.  The  spies  do  not 
venture  to  penetrate  here — this  retreat  is  not  des- 
ecrated by  their  inquisitive  and  lurking  glances." 

"Well,"  said  Hardenberg,  almost  joyously, 
"  if  we  need  not  be  afraid  of  the  eyes  and  ears 
of  spies,  your  majesty  will  permit  me  to  speak 
freely  to  you.  My  king,  great  events  are  matur- 
ing; while  impenetrable  darkness  still  seems  to 
surround  us,  morning  is  gradually  dawning,  and 
the  day  of  retribution  is  not  distant.  Europe  is 
utterly  tired  of  war,  and  this  incessant  blood- 
shed; she  has  practised  forbearance  until  it  is 
exhausted  and  converted  into  an  intense  indigna- 
tion. Thanks  to  his  unscrupulous  machinations, 
Napoleon  has  hitherto  succeeded  in  bringing 
about  wars  between  the  different  nations  of  Eu- 
rope in  order  to  derive  benefits  for  France  alone 
from  these  fratricidal  struggles.  It  was  be  who 
drove  the  Poles  and  Turks  into  a  war  against  the 
Russians,  the  Italians  against  the  Austrians,  the 
Danes  against  the  Swedes  and  English,  and  armed 
the  princes  of  the  Rhenish  Confederation  against 
thv.iir  German  countrymen  and  brethren.  He  in- 
stigated all  against  each  other;  he  made  them 
continue  the  struggle  until  they  sank  from  loss  of 
blood,  for  he  knew  that  he  would  then  be  able  to 
take  the  property  of  those  whom  he  had  made 
murder  each  other.  And  who  could  preveat 
him  ?  the  warriors,  exhausted  by  their  long  and 
bloody  work — the  starving  people,  to  whom,  in 
their  hunger  and  anguish,  only  he  who  brought 
them  piMi-e  and  a  little  bread  seemed  a  true 
friiMid  !  Italy  wished  to  deliver  herself  from  the 
Austrian  yoke,  and  after  long  struggles  the  liberty 
that  Napoleon  had  promised  her  consisted  but  in 
entire  submission  to  his  own  behests.  To  Poland, 


10 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


too,  he  promised  deliverance,  and,  after  the  un- 
fortunate country  had  risen,  and  spent  her  last 
strength  and  her  best  blood  in  the  war  against 
Russia,  she  oecame  exhausted,  and  offered  no  re- 
sistance when  he  claimed  her  as  his  spoil,  and 
declared  the  Poles,  who  had  dreamed  that  they 
were  free,  to  be  subjects  of  France.  The  princes 
of  the  Rhenish  Confederation  were  compelled  to 
send  their  German  troops  to  Spain,  to  wage  war 
against  a  nation  that  was  struggling  for  inde- 
pendence ;  and  Napoleon  in  the  meantime  placed 
a  French  adventurer  upon  a  throne  in  the  middle 
of  Germany,  and  erected  a  kingdom  for  him  from 
the  spoils  he  had  taken  from  German  princes. 
Holland,  which  had  endeavored  to  preserve  some 
vestiges  of  liberty,  was  suddenly  deprived  of  her 
sovereign,  and  converted  into  a  French  province  ; 
and  when  Napoleon  had  succeeded  in  bringing 
about  a  war  between  Sweden  aud  Russia,  and 
instigating  unfortunate  Finland  to  resist  the 
latter  power,  he  profited  by  the  favorable  mo- 
ment, and  took  Stralsund  and  the  Island  of 
Riigen,  both  of  which  belonged  to  the  King  of 
Sweden,  who  had  been  his  ally  up  to  that  time. 
In  Italy  only  the  Pontifical  states  and  the  holy 
father  at  Rome  still  resisted  him,  after  the  re- 
mainder of  the  peninsula  had  awakened  from  its 
dreams  of  liberty  under  the  rule  of  French  mar- 
shals and  Napoleonic  princes.  He  instigated 
Naples  and  Sardinia  against  Rome,  and  when 
the  struggle  had  commenced,  he  magnanimously 
hastened  to  the  assistance  of  his  brother-in-law 
Murat,  arrested  the  pope,  conveyed  him  as  a  pris- 
oner to  France,  and  declared  Rome  to  be  the 
property  of  that  country  until  the  pope  should 
submit  to  his  will.  No  country,  no  nation,  es- 
caped his  intrigues — conflagrations,  devastation, 
and  death  accompanied  him  everywhere  !  But  the 
nations,  as  I  have  stated  already,  are  at  length  im- 
patient ;  they  are  wearied  of  fighting ;  or,  rather, 
f  they  still  fight,  they  intend  to  do  so  only  in 
order  to  conquer  peace  for  themselves,  and  bring 
retribution  on  him  whc  was  the  sole  cause  of  all 
this  bloodshed." 

"  And  they  commenced  by  rushing,  at  his  com- 
mand, into  the  field — by  entering  upon  another 


war!"  exclaimed  Frederick  William,  shrugging 
his  shoulders  with  a  sneer. 

'•Your  majesty,"  said  Hardenberg,  solemnly, 
"  they  will  do  so  now  for  the  last  time.  Napoleon 
is  digging  his  own  grave,  and,  by  consolidating  the 
forces  of  all  countries  into  one  vast  army,  he 
makes  friends  of  those  whom  he  hitherto  success- 
fully tried  to  make  enemies  and  adversaries  of 
each  other.  But  when  the  nations  have  once 
found  out  that  they  are  really  brethren,  it  only 
needs  a  voice  calling  upon  them  to  unite  for  one 
grand  object — that  is  to  say,  for  the  deliverance 
of  Europe  from  the  tyrant's  yoke ! " 

"  Those  are  Utopian  dreams,"  said  the  king. 
"  Whence  should  this  voice  come  ?  Who  would 
be  so  audacious  as  to  utter  it  ?  " 

"  Whence  should  this  voice  come  ?  "  asked 
Hardenberg.  "  Your  majesty,  it  will  come  from 
heaven,  and  find  an  echo  on  the  whole  earth.  It 
will  resound  from  the  hundred  thousand  graves 
of  the  soldiers  killed  in  battle ,  from  the  breasts 
of  sorrowing  widows  and  orphans,  and,  like  the 
noise  of  the  tempest,  it  will  come  from  the  lips 
of  thousands  of  humiliated  and  disgraced  men. 
This  voice  will  not  be  that  of  a  single  man ;  but 
God,  Nature,  and  all  nations,  will  unite,  and  mil- 
lions will  utter  that  one  shout  of  *  Liberty !  Let 
us  rise  and  expel  the  tyrant ! '  " 

"  But,  then,  the  story  of  the  tower  of  Babel 
will  be  reenacted,"  said  Frederick  William,  sigh- 
ing ;  "  the  nations  will  not  understand  each  other ; 
an  endless  confusion  of  languages  will  ensue,  and, 
finally,  the  building,  which  they  intended  jointly 
to  erect,  will  fall  to  ruins  and  they  be  dispersed." 

"In  order  to  prevent  this,  a  chieftain  must 
gladly  place  himself  at  their  head,  and  direct 
their  will,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg.  "  I  hope  God 
will  intrust  this  leadership  to  your  majesty." 

"To  me?"  asked  the  king,  almost  angrily. 
"  Will  you  take  the  liberty  of  mocking  my  dis- 
tress, or  do  you  believe  that  I  ought  to  be  con 
soled  in  the  calamities  of  the  present  by  such 
hopes  of  the  future  ?  " 

uNo,  your  majesty,  I  am  only  convinced  thai 
God  will  one  day  intrust  the  task  of  retribution  to 
Prussia,  because  it  is  she  that  has  suffered  most." 


FREDERICK   WILLIAM   AND   HARDENBERG. 


11 


'•Let  us   leave  retribution   to   God,"  said  the  [ 
king,  gently. 

"No,  your  majesty,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg, 
"  let  us  now  take  upon  ourselves  the  task  of 
avenging  our  wrongs,  and  only  pray  to  Heaven 
for  a  blessing  on  our  efforts.  And  that  God  is 
with  us,  that  lie  at  last  averts  His  face  from  the 
man  who  has  so  long  trampled  the  world  under 
foot,  is  shown  by  the  new  war  into  which  Na- 
poleon is  about  to  enter.  This  expedition  to 
Russia  is  the  first  step  to  his  ruin  !  " 

"Oh,  you  are  mistaken!"  exclaimed  the  king, 
almost  indignantly.  "  It  will  be  a  new  triumphal 
procession  for  Napoleon.  Russia  will  succumb  to 
him,  as  we  all  have  done.  He  marches  upon  the 
position  of  his  enemy  with  the  armies  of  all  his 
allies — half  a  million  of  warriors  and  thousands 
of  cannon — while  Russia  stands  alone  ;  she  has  no 
force  compared  with  his,  and  no  allies  what- 
ever." 

"  She  has  one  friend  more  powerful  than  any 
Napoleon  has,"  said  Hardenberg,  solemnly — "  Na- 
ture. When  this  ally  appears,  with  its  masses  of 
ice  and  snow-storms,  Napoleon  is  lost." 

"But  he  will  take  good  care  not  to  wait  for 
this  reinforcement,"  exclaimed  the  king.  "As 
always,  he  will  finish  the  war  in  a  few  weeks, 
vanquish  the  feeble  forces  of  Alexander  with  his 
own  tremendous  columns  in  one  or  two  decisive 
battles,  and  then,  on  the  ruins  of  the  Russian  em- 
pire, dictate  terms  of  peace  to  the  humiliated 
emperor.  This  has  been  the  course  of  events 
evtr  since  Bonaparte  commanded,  and  so  it  will 
be  hereafter." 

"  Your  majesty,  it  will  not ;  for,  during  twelve 
years,  he  has  been  the  instructor  of  the  world, 
and  the  nations  have  learned  from  him  not  only 
the  art  of  war,  but  his  special  strategies.  His 
secret  consists  in  the  rapidity  of  his  movements. 
He  has  made  Macchiavelli's  words  his  own:  'A 
short  and  vigorous  war  insures  victory  ! '  He  must, 
therefore,  be  opposed  by  a  protracted  and  desul- 
tory war — his  enemies  must  fight  long,  not  with 
heavy  column?,  but  with  light  battalions,  now  here, 
now  there ;  they  must  take  care  not  to  bring  on  a 
general  battle,  but  slowly  thin  the  ranks  of  his 


army,  and  exhaust  his  resources  and  his  patience. 
This  was  the  course  which  the  Spaniards  pursued, 
and  their  hopes  are,  therefore,  promising;  they 
are  carrying  on  a  guerilla  warfare,  and  he  is  ob 
liged  to  renew  the  struggle  every  day  without 
being  able  to  defeat  them  in  a  decisive  battle. 
Russia  will  adopt  a  similar  plan.  She  will  take 
pains  to  draw  Napoleon  farther  and  farther  into 
the  interior  of  the  country,  incessantly  alluring 
him  forward  by  insignificant  victories,  rendering 
him  eager  for  a  great  battle.  In  strict  obedience 
to  the  plans  he  has  adopted,  she  will  especially  en- 
deavor to  weaken  Napoleon,  and  cut  him  off  from 
his  supplies  and  base  of  operations.  She  will 
successively  fight  him  at  every  important  poin', 
with  a  strong  army,  supported  by  large  reserves, 
tire  him  out,  and  ruin  him  in  detail.  This  plan 
she  will  adhere  to  until  her  great  ally  approaches 
from  Siberia — grim  Winter,  covering  Russia  with 
an  invulnerable  defence,  so  that  her  sons  may  at 
last  take  the  offensive,  and  expel  the  terrified 
enemy." 

"  That  is  a  grand,  but  an  infernal  scheme ! " 
exclaimed  the  king,  who  had  risen,  and  was  walk- 
ing up  and  down  with  hasty  steps.  u  Who  con- 
ceived it?" 

"  No  single  brain ;  it  is  the  result  of  the  con- 
sultations of  the  most  eminent  Russian  generals. 
They  also  have  studied  Macchiavclli,  and  found 
that  significant  axiom,  'He  who  knows  how  to 
resist  will  conquer  in  the  end.'  The  Russian*, 
therefore,  will  resist,  and  they  will  conquer." 

"  But  who  tells  you  that  this  is  the  plan  which 
Russia  will  adopt?"  asked  the  king.  "  Whence 
have  you  derived  such  accurate  information  ?  " 

"Your  majesty,"  said  Hardenberg,  smiling, 
"  though  we  publicly  act  as  the  enemies  of  Rus- 
sia, and  are  compelled  to  send  our  army  against 
her,  she  secretly  regards  us  as  her  ally,  and 
knows  well  that  we  are  only  waiting  for  the  favor- 
able moment  to  drop  the  mask  and  become  the 
open  enemy  of  the  usurper.  We  have,  therefore, 
warm  friends  in  Russia,  who  will  keep  us  in- 
formed about  every  thing  going  on,  that  we  may 
prudently  use  the  favorable  moment  when  we 
al~o  can  take  up  arms  against  Napoleon." 


12 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER, 


" No  rash  steps — no  coups  de  main"  exclaim- 
ed Frederick  William,  gravely  and  imperiously, 
standing  in  front  of  Hardenberg,  and  looking  him 
full  in  tbe  face.  "  I  am  opposed  to  any  sort  of  un- 
derhand games ;  when  you  are  not  strong  enough 
to  attack  your  enemy  openly  and  honestly,  you 
ought  to  be  too  proud  to  shoot  at  him  from  an 
ambuscade,  like  a  coward  and  bandit.  The  bul- 
let may  miss  him,  and  he  who  fired  it  dies  as  a 
traitor,  overwhelmed  with  disgrace.  I  have  con- 
cluded this  alliance  with  France ;  I  am  now  her 
ally,  and  thereby  compelled  to  furnish  her  an 
auxiliary  corps  of  twenty  thousand  men  against 
Russia;  so  long,  therefore,  as  this  campaign 
lasts,  I  must,  by  virtue  of  the  pledges  I  have 
given,  stand  by  France,  and  woe  to  the  general 
of  mine  who  should  forget  this,  and  disobey  the 
orders  I  have  given  him !  " 

"  There  may  be  circumstances,  however,  your 
majesty,"  said  Hardenberg,  in  an  embarrassed 
tone,  "  circumstances — " 

"There  can  be  none,"  interrupted  the  king, 
"justifying  us  to  turn  traitors.  A  man  has  but 
one  word  to  pledge,  and  that  I  have  pledged  to 
Napoleon.  When  my  soldiers  forsake  the  colors 
under  which  I  have  placed  them,  they  shall  be 
punished  as  deserters.  No  one  knows  the  an- 
guish with  which  I  say  this,  but  as  a  man  who 
must  keep  his  word,  and  as  a  commander-in-chief 
who,  above  all,  must  maintain  discipline  and  sub- 
ordination, I  cannot  speak  otherwise.  Tell  your 
friends  in  Russia  so.  I  am  sad  and  dejected 
enough,  compelled  as  I  am  to  become  Napoleon's 
ally.  But  I  will  not  perjure  myself!  " 

"Your  majesty,  1  bow  in  admiration  of  these 
noble  words  of  my  king,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg, 
enthusiastically  ;  "  I  wish  the  whole  world  could 
hear  them.  At  this  hour  you  obtained  a  greater 
victory  than  Napoleon  ever  gained  on  the  battle- 
field— a  victory  of  duty  and  fidelity  over  your 
own  inclinations  and  wishes !  Far  be  it  from  me 
to  oppose  this  magnanimous  resolution.  Our 
army,  then,  will  march  out  side  by  side  with  the 
French  troops,  and  will  return,  if  it  ever  should,  as 
an  auxiliary  corps  of  the  grand  army.  But  then, 
your  majesty,  the  new  day  will  dawn,  for  which 


we  must  prepare  while  Napoleon  is  in  Russia- 
It  must  be  in  secret — in  the  dead  of  night — but 
the  rising  sun  will  find  us  ready.  The  world  i« 
now  united  for  the  great  work ;  brethren  are  offei 
ing  their  hands  to  brethren  from  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean  to  those  of  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Baltic.  Their  common  sufferings  have  filled  their 
hearts  with  the  same  love  and  hatred.  All  the 
nations  are  uniting  into  one  family,  and  in  their 
wrath  will  destroy  him  who  is  menacing  all  alike. 
Secret  messengers  keep  the  brethren  in  the  west 
and  north,  in  the  south  and  east,  well  informed 
of  what  is  done  by  their  friends.  Patriotic  poets 
are  arousing  the  nations  from  the  lethargy  that 
enthralled  them  during  so  many  years ;  they  make 
them  hear  the  gospel  of  liberty,  and  awaken  them 
from  their  indifference.  In  secret  workshops  the 
brethren  are  forging  arms ;  in  the  night  the  sis- 
ters are  at  work  upon  uniforms,  and  their  chil- 
dren are  making  lint  for  warriors  to  be  wounded 
in  the  holy  war  of  liberation.  They  are  quietly 
preparing  for  it  in  the  offices,  the  students'  halls, 
and  the  workshops.  At  the  first  call  they  will 
fling  aside  their  pens  and  tools,  take  up  the 
sword,  and  hasten  into  the  field,  to  deliver  the 
fatherland.  All  Europe,  at  the  present  moment, 
is  but  one  vast  secret  society,  which  has  even  in 
France  active  and  influential  members.  Napo- 
leon stands  on  a  volcano,  which  will  soon  engulf 
him." 

"  Enough  !  "  exclaimed  the  king,  anxiously. 
"  Say  no  more  ;  I  will  know  nothing  about  secret 
societies  and  conspiracies.  They  are  perhaps  an 
inevitable  evil  in  these  times,  but  still  they  are 
an  evil,  destroying  those  for  whose  benefit  they 
were  intended." 

"  May  God  hi  His  mercy  favor  them  in  advan- 
cing our  cause,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  "that 
from  them  may  arise  the  army  that  is  to  deliver 
the  nations  from  the  yoke  of  the  tyrant !  I  am 
convinced  that  it  will  be  so,  and  that  the  moment 
will  come  when  Prussia  will  be  able  to  redeem 
the  oath  which  I  am  sure  every  Prussian  took 
when  be  saw  the  coffin  of  the  august  Queen 
Louisa.  On  the  day,  your  majesty,  when  I  saw 
it,  I  resolved  to  strive  for  no  other  object  than  to 


FREDERICK  WILLIAM    AND   HARDENBERG. 


ia 


deliver  my  country.  For  this  I  will  devote  my 
whole  strength — my  life,  if  need  be !  Heaven 
heard  my  oath,  and  I  shall  not  die  before  its  ful- 
Slment." 

The  king  gazed  long  and  mournfully  upon  the 
queen's  portrait  which  hung  over  his  desk,  and 
represented  her  in  the  attire  in  which  Frederick 
William  had  seen  her  for  the  first  time.  "  But 
she  died  before  the  hour  of  deliverance  struck," 
he  said,  gloomily,  to  himself.  "  Her  heart  was 
broken,  and  she  did  not  even  take  hope  with  her 
into  the  grave.  She — ,"  he  stopped  suddenly,  and 
turned  his  eyes  toward  Hardenberg.  "I  will 
communicate  something  to  you,"  he  said  briefly 
and  impulsively ;  "I  will  confess  to  you  that  I 
comprehend  your  oath  ;  for  I  also  took  one  when 
I  held  the  queen's  corpse  in  my  arms.  In  the  be- 
ginning the  terrible  blow  paralyzed  my  soul,  and 
I  felt  as  though  I  had  been  hurled  into  a  dark 
abyss.  Suddenly  I  heard,  as  from  a  voice  resound- 
ing in  my  ears,  *  You  must  not  die  before  you 
avenge  her  death  upon  him  who  broke  her  heart ! ' 
I  bent  over  her,  and,  kissing  her  lips,  swore  that 
I  would  live  only  to  obey.  I  have  not  forgotten 
that  oath  and  that  hour,  and,  you  may  depend  on 
it,  I  shall  ever  remember  it ;  but  I  will  wait  for 
the  favorable  moment,  and  it  must  not  be  sup- 
posed that  I  can  allow  myself  to  be  carried  away 
by  imprudent  projects." 

"  No  one  would  wish  that,  your  majesty,"  said 
Hardenberg,  hastily.  "  On  the  contrary,  pru- 
dence, above  all,  is  necessary  at  the  present  time, 
and  for  this  reason  I  would  entreat  you  to  over- 
come your  feelings  and  go  to  Dresden,  to  pay  your 
I  respects  to  the  emperor." 
"  Never  1"  exclaimed  Frederick  William,  start- 
ing up  and  blushing  with  indignation.  "  No,  no- 
where else  than  in  battle  can  I  meet  again  this 
man,  who  has  destroyed  my  happiness,  my  honor, 
and  my  hopes  !  Do  not  allude  to  this  any  more. 
It  cannot  be.  How  can  I  meet  him,  whom  I  have 
not  seen  since  the  days  of  Tilsit  ?  Who  can  ask 
me  to  go  to  Dresden,  to  stand  there  as  a  courtier 
at  the  door  of  an  arrogant  victor,  and  mingle 
with  the  crowd  of  his  trainbearers  ?  " 

"  Your  majesty,  the  Emperor  of  Austria  will 


also  go  to  Dresden,"  said  Hardenberg,  entreat- 
ingly. 

"  The  Emperor  of  Austria  does  so,  because  he 
is  unfortunate  enough  to  be  Napoleon's  father-in 
law." 

"Nevertheless,  the  Emperor  Francis  saw  his 
son-in-law  for  the  last  time  on  the  day  when, 
after  the  battle  of  Austerlitz,  he  repaired  as  a 
supplicant  to  the  bivouac-fire  of  Napoleon,  and 
implored  the  conqueror  to  grant  him  peace.  That 
was  even  worse  than  Tilsit,  and  still  the  Emperor 
of  Austria  comes  to  Dresden,  to  become,  as  your 
majesty  said,  the  trainbearer  of  the  victor." 

"  Why  does  he  do  so  ?  "  asked  the  king,  shrug- 
ging his  shoulders.  "  Because  he  must — because 
at  the  present  time  every  wish  of  Napoleon  ia 
almost  an  order,  even  for  princes.  Napoleon 
caused  his  ambassador  at  Vienna  verbally  to  in- 
form the  emperor  that  he  wished  to  see  his  father- 
in-law  at  Dresden,  and  witness  the  meeting  of  hia 
consort,  Maria  Louisa,  with  her  parents.  The 
Emperor  Francis  hastened  to  comply  with  thia 
request,  and  is  expected  to  arrive  to-morrow." 

"  Well,  Bonaparte,  fortunately,  expressed  to  me 
no  such  wish,  and  it  will  not  be  expected  that  I 
should  go  thither  without  being  requested  to  do 
so." 

"  Pardon  me,  your  majesty,  our  ambassador  at 
Dresden  received  a  similar  communication  from 
the  French  envoy  at  the  court  of  Saxony.  The 
Emperor  Napoleon  desires  likewise  to  see  your 
majesty  at  Dresden.  Here  is  the  letter  from  the 
ambassador." 

The  king  took  the  paper  and  hastily  glanced 
over  it.  He  then  heaved  a  profound  sigh,  and, 
returning  it  to  Hardenberg,  fixed  bia  eyea  once 
more  upon  the  portrait  of  the  queen.  He  gazed 
steadfastly  upon  it.  Gradually  the  expression  of 
his  features  became  milder,  and  his  gloomy  eye 
more  cheerful.  With  a  wave  of  bis  hand  he 
called  Harden  berg  to  his  side ;  looking  again  at 
the  portrait,  and  saluting  it  with  a  gentle  nod,  he 
said,  "  She  overcame  her  feelings,  and  went  to 
Tilsit,  because  she  believed  it  necessary,  for  the 
welfare  of  Prussia,  to  pacify  the  wrath  of  Na 
poleon.  I  will  follow  the  example  of  my  b* 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


loved  Louisa.  I  will  conquer  myself,  and  go  to 
Dresden.  But  you,  Hardenberg,  must  accom- 
pany me." 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE      WHITE      LADY. 

GREAT  commotion  reigned  at  the  palace  of  Bai- 
reuth.  Servants  hurried  through  the  brilliantly- 
decorated  rooms,  spreading  out  here  and  there 
an  additional  carpet,  placing  everywhere  vases 
filled  with  fragrant  flowers,  or  dusting  the  finely- 
polished  furniture.  It  was  a  great  and  important 
day  for  Baireutb.  All  felt  it,  and  excitement  and 
curiosity  drove  the  inhabitants  into  the  streets. 
No  one  cared  to  stay  at  home,  or  be  absent  at 
that  historic  hour  which  was  to  shed  upon  Bai- 
reuth  a  ray  of  her  ancient  glory. 

The  man  at  whose  feet  the  world  was  prostrate, 
to"  whom  kings  and  princes  were  bowing,  before 
whom  empires  trembled  and  thrones  passed  away, 
who  had  only  to  stretch  out  his  hand  to  establish 
new  dynasties,  and  whom  the  world  admired 
while  it  hated — Napoleon — was  to  arrive  at  Bai- 
reuth.  The  quartermasters  had  arrived  already 
early  in  the  morning,  and  ordered  in  the  name  of 
the  emperor  that  the  rooms  at  the  palace  should 
be  put  in  readiness,  because  he  intended  to  reach 
Baireuth  in  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  of  May,  and 
stop  overnight. 

The  whole  population  seemed  to  be  in  the 
streets.  The  windows  of  the  houses  along  the 
route  of  the  emperor  were  open,  crowded  with 
the  most  distinguished  ladies  of  the  city ;  they 
were  dressed  in  their  most  beautiful  toilets,  and 
held  in  their  hands  bouquets,  with  which  they  in- 
tended to  salute  Napoleon.  But  the  greatest 
commotion,  as  we  have  remarked,  reigned  at  the 
new  palace,  for  the  emperor  had  given  express 
orders  that  apartments  should  be  prepared  for 
him  there,  and  not  at  the  old  palace  of  the  Mar- 
graves of  Brandenburg.  Count  Munster,  intend- 
ant  of  the  palaces,  had,  of  course,  complied  with 
these  orders,  and  four  brilliant  rooms  were  readv 


for  the  reception  of  Napoleon.  All  the  arrange- 
ments were  completed,  and  the  intendant,  fol- 
lowed by  the  castellan,  walked  for  the  last  time 
through  the  imperial  rooms  to  satisfy  himself  that 
every  thing  was  in  good  order. 

"  No,  nothing  has  been  left  undone,"  said  the 
cotfnt,  when  he  stepped  into  the  bedchamber 
destined  for  the  emperor.  "Every  thing  is  as 
comfortable  as  it  is  splendid ;  the  arrangement 
reflects  a  great  deal  of  credit  upon  you,  my  dear 
Schluter,  and  will,  doubtless,  procure  you  a  lib- 
eral reward  from  the  emperor,  who  is  said  to  be 
very  munificent." 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  accept  any  presents  at  the 
tyrant's  hands,"  growled  the  castellan,  with  a 
gloomy  face ;  "  I  do  not  want  to  stain  my  hands 
with  the  plunder  which  he  brings  from  foreign 
lands,  and  which  is  accompanied  with  a  curse 
rather  than  a  blessing." 

"  You  are  a  fool,  my  dear  Schluter,"  exclaimed 
the  count,  laughing.  "You  see  at  least  that 
curses  do  not  incommode  the  emperor,  for  his 
power  and  authority  are  constantly  on  the  in- 
crease. He  is  now  going  to  Dresden,  to  see  at 
his  feet  all  the  princes  of  Germany ;  and  he  will 
then  hasten  northward,  to  gain  new  victories  and 
humiliate  the  only  man  in  the  world  who  still 
dares  to  defy  him,  the  Emperor  Alexander  of 
Russia." 

"I  know  some  one  else  who  will  not  bow  to 
him,  and  whom  he  will  not  humiliate,"  said  the 
castellan,  contemptuously  shrugging  his  shoul- 
ders. 

"  Well,  and  who  is  that  ?  "  asked  Count  Mun- 
ster, quickly. 

"  It  is  the  White  Lady ! "  exclaimed  the  cas- 
tellan, solemnly  and  loudly. 

Count  Munster  shuddered  and  glanced  around 
in  evident  terror.  "  For  Heaven's  sake,  hush  1 " 
he  said,  hastily.  "  Pray  forget  these  foolish  hal- 
lucinations, and,  above  all,  do  not  venture  to  talk 
about  them  at  the  present  time." 

The  castellan  shook  his  head  slowly.  "You 
ought  not  to  talk  of  hallucinations,  count,"  he 
said,  solemnly.  "  The  White  Lady  is  awake  and 
walking,  and  she  knows  that  the  enemy  of  her 


THE   WHITE   LADY. 


House,  the  house  of  Brandenburg,  will  spend  the 
coming  night  at  this  palace.  I  repeat  it  to  your 
excellency,  she  is  walking,  and  her  eyes  are  filled 
with  wrath,  and  there  is  a  curse  on  her  !ips  against 
the  enemy  of  the  Hohenzollerns.  I  would  not  be 
surprised  if  she  should  shout  to-night  into  the 
ears  of  the  tyrant,  and,  by  her  words,  awaken  him 
from  his  slumber." 

"  Gracious  Heaven,  Schluter,  do  not  talk  so 
audaciously ! "  exclaimed  the  count,  anxiously. 
"  If  one  of  the  attendants  of  the  emperor  over- 
hear your  words,  you  would  perish.  Napoleon  is 
said  to  be  somewhat  superstitious;  he,  who  other- 
wise is  afraid  of  nothing  in  the  world,  is  said  to 
be  easily  terrified  by  ghosts,  and  to  believe  in  all 
iorts  of  omens  and  prophecies.  He  has  already 
heard  of  the  White  Lady  of  Baireuth,  and  there- 
fore given  express  orders  that  apartments  should 
be  prepared  for  him  at  the  new  palace,  and  not  at 
the  old  one,  and  rooms  selected  in  which  she  was 
not  in  the  habit  of  walking.*  I  hope  that  you 
have  punctually  carried  out  this  order,  and  that 
these  rooms  are  exempt  from  the  visits  of  the 
apparition  ?  " 

"  Who  has  the  power  to  give  orders  to  spirits, 
and  command  them,  'So  far  and  no  farther?'" 
asked  the  castellan,  almost  scornfully.  "  She 
goes  whither  she  desires,  and  the  doors  closed 
against  her  she  opens  by  a  breath.  The  walls 
disappear  before  her,  and  where  you  expect  her 
least  of  all,  there  you  suddenly  meet  her  tall, 
majestic  form  in  the  white  dress,  her  head  covered 
with  a  black  veil,  under  which  her  large  angry 
eyes  are  flashing." 

'*  Hush,  Schluter ! "  exclaimed  the  count,  anx- 
iously, "  I  know  the  portrait  of  the  White  Lady, 
which  hangs  in  the  cabinet  adjoining  the  audi- 
ence-hall, and  it  is,  therefore,  unnecessary  for  you 
to  describe  her  appearance  to  me." 

"Your  excellency  knows  that  we  have  two 
portraits  of  the  White  Lady,"  said  the  castellan, 
laconically. 

"Yes,  the  one  with  the  white  dre.-»s  is  at  the 
hermitage;  the  other,  representing  her  in  a  dark 

Historical.— Vide  Minutoli,  •»  The  White  Lady,"  p.  17. 


•  Historical 


dress,  is  here  at  the  palace.  Thank  Heaven! 
there  is  but  one  portrait  of  her  here,  and  I  hojie 
it  is  in  the  other  wing  of  the  building." 

"  That  is  to  say,  I  saw  the  portrait  there  this 
afternoon,  but  who  knows  whether  it  is  still 
there  ?  " 

"  How  so  ?  Who  knows  ?  "  asked  the  count 
impatiently.  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  I  mean,  count,  that  it  is  in  fact  no  portrait, 
but  only  the  bed  in  which  the  White  Lady  sleeps 
until  it  pleases  her  to  wall:,  and  that,  while  she 
is  walking,  it  will  certainly  not  be  found  at  its 
place.  Did  I  not  report  to  your  excellency  six 
months  since  that  the  portrait  had  again  broken 
the  nail  and  fallen  ?  It  was  an  entirely  new  nail, 
count,  so  firm  and  strong,  that  half  a  regiment  of 
French  soldiers  might  have  been  hung  upon  it  at 
the  same  time ;  I  had  had  the  nail  made  by  the 
blacksmith,  and  the  mason  fixed  it.  I  myself 
hung  up  the  portrait,  and  it  seemed  as  firm  as 
though  it  had  grown  in  the  wall.  But  that  very 
night  a  noise  like  a  thunder-clap  rolling  over  my 
head  awakened  me,  and  when  I  opened  my  eyes, 
the  White  Lady  stood  at  my  bedside ;  her  right 
hand  raised  menacingly,  her  black  veil  thrown 
back,  she  stared  at  me  with  a  face  flashing  with 
anger.  I  uttered  a  cry,  and  shut  my  eyes.  When 
I  opened  them  again,  she  had  disappeared.  In 
the  morning  I  went  into  the  hall  to  look  after  the 
portrait  It  was  gone.  Where  the  nail  had  been 
fixed  nothing  but  a  blood-red  stain  was  to  be  seen  ; 
the  nail  itself,  broken  into  small  pieces,  lay  on  the 
floor.  The  portrait  had  walked  to  the  small  cabi- 
net adjoining  the  hall,  and  was  quietly  leaning 
there  against  the  wall  as  though  nothing  had 
happened." 

"  And  I  told  you  to  let  it  stand  there,  and  not 
try  again  to  hang  it  up.  The  large  painting  ig 
too  heavy." 

"  If  the  large  painting  wanted  to  hang  on  the 
wall  it  would  allow  the  smallest  nail  to  hold  it," 
said  Schluter,  shaking  his  head.  u  But  the  White 
La  1  y  wishes  to  stand  on  her  own  feet,  and  no  hu- 
man power  is  able  to  prevent  her." 

"  Schluter,  I  repeat  to  you,  you  are  a  dreamer," 
exclaimed  the  count,  impatiently.  "  Let  us  speak 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


no  more  of  the  apparition.  It  makes  one  feel 
quite  curious.  Tell  me  now  whether  you  have 
really  removed  the  portrait  far  enough  that  it  can- 
not be  seen  by  the  emperor  ?  " 

"  When  I  was  an  hour  ago  at  the  cabinet  ad- 
joining the  audience-hall,  the  portrait  was  still 
there.  But  who  knows  what  may  have  happened 
since  then  ?  " 

"  Well,  it  is  a  fixed  idea  of  yours,"  said  the 
count,  shrugging  his  shoulders.  "  I  do  not  wish 
to  hear  any  more  of  it.  These  rooms  are  finely 
arranged,  and  I  have  no  fault  to  find  with  them. 
Now  lock  the  entrance-door,  and  let  us  go  out 
through  the  Gallery  of  Palms,  by  which  the  em- 
peror will  have  to  enter." 

"  Pray,  your  excellency,  lead  the  way ;  I  shall 
lock  the  door  and  immediately  follow  you,"  said 
the  castellan,  walking  hastily  through  the  opened 
rooms. 

Count  Munster  slowly  walked  on,  thoughtfully 
looking  down,  and  shuddering  inwardly  at  the 
immovable  superstition  of  the  castellan,  whom 
his  reason  vainly  endeavored  to  deride. 

"  And  still  it  is  folly,  nothing  but  folly,"  he 
muttered  to  himself,  while  opening  the  high  hall- 
door,  and  stepping  into  the  anteroom,  to  which, 
on  account  of  its  length  and  narrowness,  and  the 
fresco  paintings  of  tropical  plants  on  the  walls, 
the  name  of  the  "Gallery  of  Palms"  had  been 
given. 

All  was  silent  in  this  gallery  ;  the  setting  sun 
shed  its  beams  through  the  windows,  covered  with 
dark  curtains,  and  drew  trembling  shining  lines 
across  the  high  room.  The  footsteps  of  the 
count  resounded  so  loudly  that  he  himself  was 
frightened,  and  glanced  anxiously  around.  Sud- 
denly he  started  in  dismay,  and  quickly  advanced 
several  steps.  He  had  seen  something  moving 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  gallery,  and  it  seemed  to 
him  as  though  he  had  heard  approaching  foot- 
steps. Yes,  he  was  not  mistaken ;  now  he  saw 
it  quite  distinctly  !  A  lady  approached.  The  sun 
illuminated  her  tall  form,  and  shed  a  golden  light 
over  the  white  dress  falling  down  in  ample  folds 
over  her  feet.  She  approached  with  slow  steps, 
quite  regardless  of  the  count,  who  at  first  looked 


at  her  in  surprise,  and  then  turned  with  an  angry 
face  toward  the  castellan,  who  just  then  entered. 

"  You  did  not  comply,  then,  with  my  orders, 
Schluter  ?  "  exclaimed  the  count,  vehemently.  "  I 
told  you  expressly  to  keep  the  rooms  shut  until 
the  emperor's  arrival,  and  not  to  admit  any  one. 
How  could  you  dare  disobey  my  instructions  ?  " 

"But,  your  excellency,  I  did  obey  them,"  an- 
swered Schluter.  "  Not  a  human  being  be- 
sides the  footmen  has  been  permitted  to  enter 
here,  and  even  those  I  drove  out  two  hours  ago, 
and  shut  the  doors." 

"  If  that  be  true,  how  does  it  happen  that  there 
is  a  lady  here  in  the  gallery,"  asked  Count  Mun- 
ster, stretching  out  his  arm  toward  the  lower  end 
of  the  apartment. 

"  A  lady  ? "  asked  Schluter,  greatly  amazed. 
"  Where  is  she,  your  excellency  ?  " 

The  count  fixed  his  eyes  searchingly  on  the 
large  arched  window,  in  the  bright  light  of 
which  he  had  distinctly  seen  the  lady.  She  was 
gone — the  gallery  was  empty.  "  You  forgot  to 
shut  the  lower  door,  and  while  I  turned  and 
scolded  you,  the  lady  escaped  !  "  he  exclaimed. 
He  hastily  rushed  forward,  and  tried  to  open  the 
door  leading  into  the  corridor :  but  this  was 
locked.  The  count  vainly  shook  the  lock.  "  That 
is  strange,"  he  muttered,  dropping  his  hand.  "  I 
know  I  saw  her  distinctly ;  it  is  impossible  that  I 
could  have  been  mistaken.  Where  can  she  be  ? 
What  has  become  of  her  ?  Where  has  she  con- 
cealed herself  ?" 

"  What  becomes  of  the  last  sigh  of  a  dying 
person,  your  excellency,"  asked  Schluter,  solemn- 
ly. "Where  does  the  soul  conceal  itself  after 
escaping  from  the  body  ?  " 

"Ah,  nonsense!"  ejaculated  Count  Munster. 
"  It  could  not  have  been  a  spectre.  Why,  it  is 
not  a  spectre's  hour,  and,  besides,  I  certainly  saw 
the  lady  plainly  ;  it  was  a  decidedly  earthly  fig- 
ure. Her  face  was  pale  and  grave,  but  there  waa 
nothing  spectral  about  it.  She  wore  a  black  veil 
thrown  back  from  her  face ;  the  upper  part  of  her 
body  was  covered  with — " 

"A  dark  pelisse  trimmed  with  fur,"  inter- 
rupted  Schluter,  composedly.  "  Below  this  dark 


THE   WHITE   LADY. 


17 


pelisse  protruded  a  white  silk  dress,  falling  to  the 
ground  in  full  folds." 

"  Yes,  yes,  that  was  the  costume,"  exclaimed 
the  count  "  But  how  do  you  know  it  without 
having  seen  her  ?  " 

"  It  is  the  costume  of  the  White  Lady,  your 
excellency,"  said  Schluter,  "  and  it  was  she  who 
just  walked  through  the  gallery.  Pray,  count, 
go  with  me  to  the  other  wing  of  the  palace  and 
look  at  her  portrait ;  your  excellency  will  then  be 
convinced  that  I  tell  the  truth." 

"  No,  no,  I  do  not  wish  to  see  it/''  replied 
Count  Munster,  whose  cheeks  turned  pale,  and 
who  felt  his  heart  frozen  with  terror.  "  Unlock 
the  door,  Schluter !  The  air  here  is  sultry  and 
very  oppressive !  Quick  !  quick  !  open  the  door ! " 
The  castellan  obeyed,  and  the  count  rushed  out 
into  the  corridor,  where  he  opened  a  window  and 
inhaled  the  fresh  air  in  eager  draughts. 

At  this  moment  shouts  were  heard  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  at  the  same  time  the  count's  footman 
ru§hed  breathlessly  down  the  corridor.  "Your 
excellency,  the  emperor  is  coming.  He  has  al- 
ready passed  through  the  gate,  and  the  people 
are  loudly  cheering  him.  I  have  run  as  fast  as  I 
could,  in  order  to  inform  your  excellency." 

"I  am  coming,"  said  the  count,  advancing 
rapidly.  But,  having  proceeded  a  few  steps,  he 
turned  again  and  beckoned  the  castellan  to  his 
side.  "  Schluter,"  he  whispered  to  him,  u  if  you 
love  your  life,  do  not  say  a  word  about  what  has 
just  happened  here.  It  must  remain  a  secret." 

A  secret!"  muttered  Schluter  to  himself, 
gazing  after  the  count,  who  hurried  away.  "  The 
White  Lady  will  maiugf  the  affair  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  he  at  least  will  hear  of  the  secret,  and 
bloodthirsty  tyr.int  will  not  sleep  well  in  the 
ce  of  tin.'  Margraves  of  Brandenburg."  He 
ently  closed  the  door  and  stepped  out  into 
large  Staircase-hall,  the  doors  of  which  opened 
n  the  street.  Uttering  incoherent  words  of 
ignation  in  an  undertone,  the  castelian  pushed 
open  one  of  the  windows  and  looked  gloomily 
down  on  the  stivi-t.  An  immense  crowd  were  in 
front  of  the  palace ;  all  eyes  were  turned  to  the 
Bide  from  which  the  emperor  waa  to  approach. 


Breathless  with  curiosity,  the  people  waited  for 
the  arrival  of  the  hero  who  had  conquered  nearly 
all  the  world. 

"  How  those  fools  are  gaping ! "  growled  Schlu- 
ter. "  Idle  and  lazy  as  usual ;  they  like  to  com- 
plain and  lament,  but  they  never  think  of  doing 
any  thing.  If  only  each  one  would  take  up  a 
single  stone  from  the  pavement  and  throw  it  as  a 
greeting  at  the  tyrant's  iron  head,  all  this  distress 
and  wretchedness  would  be  at  an  end.  But  no 
one  thinks  of  that,  and  I  should  not  wonder  if 
those  fellows,  instead  of  cursing  him,  should  en- 
thusiastically cheer  him." 

The  shouts  drew  nearer  at  this  moment,  as  the 
crowd  rushed  from  the  lower  part  of  the  street, 
their  acclamations  growing  constantly  more  deaf- 
ening. French  lancers  galloped  up  to  keep  the 
people  back,  and  several  carriages,  preceded  by  a 
plain  calash,  came  in  view.  A  negro,  dressed  in 
a  richly-embroidered  livery,  sat  on  the  box  by  the 
side  of  the  coachman ;  two  plainly-dressed  gentle- 
men occupied  the  inside  of  the  carriage. 

"  That  is  he ! "  growled  Schluter.  "  The  Evil 
One  brings  him  hither — he  is  his  best  friend 
Yes,  that  is  he,  and  he  looks  pale,  grave,  and  in- 
censed, as  though  he  would  like  to  wither  by  a 
single  glance  the  whole  miserable  rabble  staring 
at  him." 

"That  is  he!"  shouted  the  people.  "Long 
live  Napoleon  !  Long  live  the  emperor  ! " 

Napoleon  gazed  coldly  and  impassively  upon 
the  crowd,  whose  cheers  came  to  him  as  a  sound 
to  which  he  had  long  been  accustomed,  and  which 
was  by  no  means  agreeable.  It  was  not  worth 
while  for  him  to  smile  on  these  inhabitants  of  a 
small  city  ;  a  cold,  quick  nod  waa  a  sufficient  ac- 
knowledgment "  Long  live  Napoleon  ! "  shouted 
the  crowd  again,  when  the  emperor,  having  left 
the  carriage,  now  turned  again  in  front  of  the 
palace-gate,  and  gazed  long  and  indifferently  upon 
the  spectators. 

The  castellan  closed  his  window.  "  Ah  !  "  he 
Mil  1,  "  he  dares  to  enter  this  palace.  The  White 
Lady  will  !>M  him  welcome,  and  know  how  to 
hasten  the  flight  of  this  arrogant  tyrant  Napo- 
leon is  coming  !  Do  you  hear  that,  White  Lady  f 


18 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUOHER. 


Napoleon  is  coming  ! "  He  burst  into  laughter, 
and,  opening  the  door  of  the  corridor,  took  a 
position  at  the  one  leading  into  the  Gallery  of 
Palms. 

Footsteps  resounded  on  the  staircase,  and  vari- 
ous persons  appeared.  Generals,  adjutants,  and 
lackeys  hurried  in  and  formed  on  both  sides,  as  it 
were,  in  line  of  battle.  The  emperor  then  entered 
the  lower  end  of  the  corridor ;  Count  Munster 
walked  by  his  side  in  the  most  respectful  and 
submissive  manner.  All  bowed  their  heads  rever- 
entially, but  the  emperor  took  no  notice  of  them, 
and  slowly  passed  the  saluting  officers  and  ser- 
vants. 

"  I  hope  you  have  punctually  fulfilled  my  or- 
ders, count  ? "  he  asked,  in  his  sonorous  voice. 
"  This  is  the  new  palace,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  It  is,  sire.  And  this  man  will  testify  that  no 
one  has  set  foot  into  the  imperial  rooms,"  said 
Count  Munster,  pointing  with  a  smile  to  the  cas- 
tellan, who,  holding  his  bunch  of  keys  in  his  up- 
lifted arm,  stood  at  the  entrance  of  the  Gallery  of 
Palms. 

"  Who  is  it  ? "  asked  Napoleon,  whose  eagle 
eye  was  fixed  upon  Schluter. 

"  Sire,  it  is  the  castellan  of  this  palace,  a  faith- 
ful, reliable  man,  who  has  been  on  service  here 
for  more  than  thirty  years.  He  has  guarded  and 
locked  the  rooms,  and  they  open  now  only  to 
your  majesty's  orders." 

"  Open,"  ordered  the  emperor,  with  a  quick 
wave  of  his  hand.  The  castellan  obeyed,  and 
Napoleon  entered.  Count  Munster  followed,  and 
the  attendants  crowded  in  after  them.  Advan- 
cing quickly  into  the  middle  of  the  gallery,  the 
emperor  stood  directly  in  front  of  (he  arched  win- 
dow in  which  Count  Munster  had  before  seen  the 
strange  apparition. 

"  The  White  Lady,  then,  never  appears  in  this 
wing  of  the  palace  ?  "  asked  Napoleon,  abruptly. 

"  No,  sire — never,"  said  Count  Munster,  sol- 
emnly. "  On  the  whole,  sire,  no  one  here  be- 


V'h* 


soon  have  supper ;   you  will  be  my  guest, 
said,  turning  on  the  threshold  to  Count  Munster 
and  dismissing  the  gentlemen  of  his  suit. 

The  door  closed.  He  was  now  a  guest  at  th« 
palace  of  the  ancestors  of  the  royal  family  of  Prus 
sia,  the  Margraves  of  Brandenburg. 


CHAPTER    III. 

NAPOLEON    AND   THE   WHITE   LADY. 

THE  emperor  had  long  risen  from  the  supper- 
table.  The  imperial  suite  had  been  allowed  to 
withdraw.  Alone  he  sat  in  a  comfortable  night- 
dress on  the  high,  antiquated  easy-chair,  in  front 
of  the  fireplace,  in  which,  at  his  express  order, 
notwithstanding  the  warm  weather,  a  large  fire 
had  been  kindled.  He  liked  heat;  the  sun  of 
Egypt  and  the  desert  had  never  been  too  warm  for 
him ;  in  the  hottest  summer  days  in  France  he 
frequently  felt  chilly,  and  called  for  a  fire.  It 
seemed  as  though  the  inflamed  blood  in  his  veins 
made  the  world  appear  cold  to  him  ;  he  saw  the 
light  of  the  sunbeams,  but  did  not  feel  their 
warmth.  He  now  sat  close  to  the  fire,  his  face 
bent  over  the  large  map  that  lay  on  the  table.  It 
was  a  map  of  Russia.  He  rapidly  drew  several 
lines  across  it,  marking  positions  with  the  colored 
pins,  tajcen  from  the  small  boxes  beside  him. 
"  Yes,  this  is  my  plan,"  he  said  to  himself,  after 
a  long  pause.  "  Three  of  my  corps  must  be 
placed  on  the  Niemen ;  Davoust,  Oudinot,  and 
Ney,  will  command  them.  There,  farther  to  the 
left,  the  cavalry  reserves,  under  Nansouty  and 
Montbrun,  will  take  position.  Here  the  old  guard, 
under  Lefebore;  there  the  young  guard,  under 
Mortier  and  Bessieres,  with  the  cavalry  of  the 
guard.  At  this  point,  farther  to  the  south,  the 
fourth  corps,  composed  of  the  Italians  and  Ba- 
varians, will  operate,  and  the  Viceroy  of  Italy, 


lieves  in  the  absurd  old  story,  and  I  am  sure  no  Eugene,  will  be  its  general-in-chief.  Farther 
one  knows  of  the  White  Lady  otherwise  than  down,  here  at  Grodno  and  Bialystock,  I  will  place 
from  hearsay." 


The  emperor  nodded,  and  passed  on.     u  Let  us 


the  Poles,  Westphalians,  and  Saxon?  ;  the  fifth, 
seventh,  and  eighth  corps  to  be  commanded  by 


NAPOLEON   AND   THE   WHITE   LADY. 


19 


my  brother  Jerome.  The  Prussians  will  halt  at 
Tilsit,  and  form  the  extreme  left  wing ;  Macdonald 
will  be  their  leader ;  and  below  there,  at  Dro- 
chiczyn  Schwartzenberg  with  his  Austrians  will 
form  the  extreme  right  wing.  The  preparations 
are  complete,  and  the  thunder-cloud  is  ready  to 
burst  over  Russia  if  Alexander  should  persist  in 
bis  obstinacy.  Like  the  waves  of  the  tempestuous 
ocean,  my  arn,ies  are  rolling  toward  the  shores  of 
Russia,  They  can  still  be  stopped  by  a  suppliant 
word  from  Alexander.  If  he  refuses,  let  his  des- 
tiny be  fulfilled,  and  let  the  roar  of  my  cannon  in- 
form him  that  his  hour  has  struck,  and  that  the 
-_nd  of  his  imperial  power  draws  nigh.  It  was  his 
own  will.  He  himself  has  brought  destruction 
upon  his  head  !  He — " 

A  loud  noise  above  his  head,  making  the  walls 
tremble  and  the  windows  rattle,  suddenly  inter- 
rupted the  stillness.  The  emperor  rose  from  his 
seat  and  shouted  "  Roustan  !  "  The  door  of  the 
adjoining  room  opened,  and  the  Mameluke  ap- 
peared on  the  threshold. 

"What  was  it?  "  asked  Napoleon,  hastily. 

"Sire,  it  was  as  if  a  wall  fell  in  above  us; 
the  noise  was  as  loud  as  though  a  cannon  were 
fired  in  the  palace.  I  rushed  immediately  into 
the  corridor,  but  every  thing  there  was  quiet. 
Only  the  castellan  of  the  palace  appeared  in  the 
utmost  haste  in  his  night-gown,  and  asked  whether 
an  accident  had  happened  in  the  rooms  of  the 
emperor." 

"  Where  is  the  castellan  now  ?  " 

,  when  I  told  him  that  the  noise  was  on 
the  upper  floor,  he  immediately  went  thither  in 
order  to  see  what  had  occurred." 

44  Go  and  bring  him  to  me,"  ordered  Napoleon ; 
aid  when  Roustan  had  withdrawn,  the  emperor 
fixed  his  eyes  steadfastly  on  the  door,  and  his 
compressed  lips  quivered  with  impatience. 

Finally,  the  door  opened  again;  Roustan  ap- 
red,  followed  by  the  castellan,  pale  and  trera- 
behind  the  Mameluke,  and  clinging  with  his 
ands  to  the  door  to  support  himself. 

Napoleon    cast    upon  him   one  of  his  quick 
lances.     "  What  was  this  noise,  and  why  do  you 

mble  so  violently  ?  " 


"  Pardon  me,  your  majesty,''  faltered  Schluter, 
44  but  my  terror — the  surprise — I  am  afraid  I  have 
lost  my  senses.  I  have  just  seen  something  so 
unheard  of,  so  incredible,  that  I—" 

"What  have  you  seen?"  asked  Napoleon. 
44  Speak  !  What  was  this  noise  ?  " 

The  castellan  slowly  raised  his  bead,  and 
stared  with  terrified  eyes  at  the  emperor.  "  Your 
majesty,"  he  said,  solemnly,  "  the  White  Lady 
made  the  noise !  " 

Napoleon  started,«and  his  brow  grew  clouded. 
44  But  did  they  not  tell  me  that  the  miserable 
spectre  never  haunted  this  part  of  the  palace  ?  " 
he  asked.  "  Did  I  not  issue  orders  that  rooms 
should  be  given  me  where  I  should  not  be  dis- 
turbed by  this  apparition  ?  " 

44  Your  majesty,  she  has  hitherto  never  entered 
these  rooms,"  exclaimed  Schluter.  "  Never  be- 
fore has  the  White  Lady  directed  her  steps 
hither,  and  this  afternoon  her  portrait  stood 
quietly  in  a  cabinet  of  the  other  wing  of  the 
palace.  I  can  take  an  oath  that  this  is  true." 

"  What  portrait  do  you  refer  to  ?  "  asked  Na- 
poleon, impatiently. 

44  The  portrait  of  the  White  Lady,"  said  Schlu- 
ter. 44 1  saw  it  this  very  day  in  the  cabinet  on  the 
other  side ;  all  the  doors  were  locked,  and  now  I 
suddenly  find  this  large  painting  in  the  room  above 
you ;  it  was  lying  on  the  floor  as  if  in  walking  it 
had  stumbled  over  something  and  fallen.  It  is 
the  first  time  that  the  White  Lady  appears  in  this 
wing  of  the  palace ;  her  portrait  has  come  from 
the  other  side,  and  Heaven  alone  knows  how  it 
has  happened.  Whenever  we  wished  to  convey 
the  painting,  with  its  enormous  wooden  frame, 
from  one  room  to  another,  no  less  than  six  men 
were  required  to  carry  it,  and  now  it  is  here  as 
though  it  had  flitted  through  the  air:  and  it  is 
1  ying  on  the  floor  as  if  struck  down  by  lightning." 

44  And  you  think  the  fall  of  the  painting  pro- 
d:uvd  (he  noise?" 

"  I  feel  convince  1  of  it.    If  your  majesty  wishes 

me  to  do  so,  I  will  get  a  few  men,  go  up-stairs  to 

the  painting,  and  let  it  fall  again,  that  your 

majesty  may  judge  whether  it  is  the  same  noise 

or  not," 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


"  Ah,  you  do  not  feel  much  respect  for  your 
walking  portrait,"  exclaimed  the  emperor,  smil- 
ing. "  You  want  to  abuse  it,  and  make  experi- 
ments with  it.  We  will  suppose  that  the  fall  of 
the  painting  was  the  sole  cause  of  the  noise.  Now, 
that  it  is  on  the  floor,  I  believe  it  will  lie  still  and 
disturb  us  no  longer,  unless  it  be  that  your  por- 
trait should  fall  asleep  and  snore.  What  do  you 
know  about  that  ?  " 

"Your  majesty,"  said  Schluter,  gravely,  "the 
White  Lady  never  sleeps  !  "  • 

The  emperor  cast  a  searching  glance  upon  him, 
and  then  turned  away,  folded  his  hands,  and 
slowly  paced  the  room.  Suddenly  he  stood  in 
front  of  the  castellan. 

"  What  about  this  White  Lady  ?  "  he  asked, 
hastily.  "Who  was  she,  and  what  is  her  his- 
tory?" 

"  Ah,  sire,  it  is  a  long  and  melancholy  history 
concerning  the  ancestors  of  the  Margraves  of 
Brandenburg,"  said  Schluter,  sighing. 

"  You  know  the  history  ?  " 

"  Yes,  your  majesty,  I  know  it  well." 

"  Tell  it  to  me,  but  very  briefly,"  said  Napo- 
leon, throwing  himself  on  the  easy-chair  in  front 
of  the  fireplace,  and  ordering  Roustan,  by  a  wave 
of  his  hand  and  the  word  "Fire!"  to  add  fresh 
fuel. 

"  Now,  tell  me  all  about  it." 

"  Your  majesty,"  replied  Schluter,  hesitatingly, 
"  I  do  not  know  how  to  narrate  a  story  in  fine 
words,  and  you  must  pardon  me  if  I  do  not  acquit 
myself  very  satisfactorily." 

"  Who  was  this  White  Lady  ?  " 

"  Sire,  her  name  was  Cunigunda,  Countess  von 
Plassenburg.  Her  parents  had  compelled  her  to 
marry  the  old  Count  von  Plassenburg,  and  when 
her  husband  died,  after  two  years  of  unhappy 
wedded  life,  the  Countess  Cunigunda  of  Orla- 
munde  and  Plassenburg  was  a  young  widow, 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  heiress  of  the  splendid 
Plassenburg,  and  mother  of  two  children.  She 
was  a  gay-spirited  lady,  and  looked  around  for 
another  husband.  Her  eyes  fell  on  the  Burgrave 
of  Nuremberg,  the  distinguished  nobleman  Albert 
the  Handsome.  The  whole  German  people  called 


him  so  ;  and  all  the  girls,  far  and  near,  daughters 
of  the  nobility,  as  well  as  those  of  the  citizens  of 
Nuremberg,  loved  the  fine-looking  Burgrave  of 
Nuremberg,  who  was  the  ancestor  of  the  House  of 
Hohenzollern.  But  the  noble  Count  Albert  loved 
only  one  young  lady,  beautiful  Beatrice  of  Hai- 
nault,  and  would  marry  none  but  her.  The  Count- 
ess Cunigunda  of  Orlamunde,  however,  was  not 
aware  of  this,  and  sent  him  a  message,  asking 
him  whether  he  would  not  like  to  marry  her. 
She  would  give  him,  besides  her  hand,  the  splendid 
Plassenburg  and  all  her  other  property.  Burgrave 
Albert  the  Handsome  smiled  when  he  heard  the 
message  ;  shrugging  his  shoulders,  he  said  :  '  Tell 
your  countess  I  regard  her  as  very  amiable,  and 
should  like  to  marry  her,  provided  four  eyes  were 
not  in  existence.  But  as  it  is,  I  cannot  do  so.' 
The  burgrave  referred  to  the  eyes  of  his  parents, 
who  did  not  like  the  Countess  of  Orlamunde,  and 
he  wished  to  make  them  responsible  for  his  re- 
fusal, so  as  not  to  offend  the  beautiful  widow. 
But  Cunigunda  interpreted  the  words  differently, 
and  thought  the  four  eyes,  which  the  Burgrave 
said  were  in  the  way  of  their  marriage,  were  those 
of  her  two  children.  She  loved  the  handsome 
Burgrave  so  intensely,  that  she  henceforth  hated 
the  children,  because  she  believed  them  to  be  the 
sole  obstacles  to  her  marriage.  The  Evil  One  and 
her  passion  whispered  into  her  ear,  '  Go  and  kill 
your  children.'  So  Cunigunda  rose  from  her 
couch ;  in  a  long  white  night-dress,  her  head 
covered  with  a  black  veil,  she  crept  to  the  bed 
of  her  children,  and,  drawing  from  her.  raven  hair 
a  long  golden  pin,  set  with  precious  stones  (a 
gift  which  she  had  once  received  at  the  hands  of 
Burgrave  Albert),  she  pierced  the  heads  of  her 
children,  penetrating  the  brain  to  the  vertebra." 

"Medea!"  ejaculated  Napoleon,  staring  into 
the  fire.  "  This,  then,  is  the  history  of  the  Medea 
of  the  Hohenzolleru." 

"No,  sire,  the  name  of  the  countess  was  not 
Medea,  but  Cunigunda,"  said  Schluter,  respect- 
fully. 

Napoleon  smiled.     "  Proceed,"  be  said. 

"  On  the  following  morning  there  was  great 
wailing  at  the  Plassenburg,  for  the  two  sweet  lii 


NAPOLEON  AND   THE   WHITE   LADY. 


21 


tie  children  lay  dead  in  their  bed  ;  not  a  vestige 
of  violence  was  to  be  seen,  and  the  physician  of 
the  countess  decided  that  a  stroke  of  apoplexy 
had  killed  them.  The  Countess  of  Orlamunde 
sent  a  mounted  messenger  to  Nuremberg  to  Bur- 
grave  Albert  the  Handsome,  requesting  him  to 
come  and  see  her.  And  when  the  burgrave  came 
she  met  him  in  a  white  bridal  dress,  and  looked 
at  him  with  radiant  eyes ;  in  her  uplifted  right 
hand  she  had  the  golden  hair-pin,  and  said,  '  The 
four  eyes  are  no  longer  in  existence.  For  your 
sake  I  have  stabbed  my  two  children  with  this 
pin,  your  first  love-gift ;  the  four  eyes  are  extin- 
guished forever.  Now,  marry  me  ! '  But  the  bur- 
grave  recoiled  in  terror,  and  pushed  back  the 
murderess,  who  was  about  to  embrace  him.  He 
then  dragged  her  through  the  rooms  to  the  dun- 
geon of  the  castle.  She  begged  and  cried,  but 
the  burgrave  had  no  mercy  upon  the  infanticide, 
and  hurled  her  down  into  the  dungeon.  He  then 
informed  the  courts  of  the  crime  that  had  been 
committed.  The  Countess  von  Orlamunde,  the  last 
member  of  her  family,  was  put  on  trial,  and 
sentence  of  death  passed  upon  her.  The  Bur- 
grave  of  Nuremberg  sent  the  first  executioner 
from  the  city  to  the  Plassenburg,  and  the  count- 
ess was  beheaded  in  the  presence  of  the  bur- 
grave,  and  in  the  same  room  in  which  she  had 
murdered  her  children.  Before  putting  her  head 
on  the  block  she  glanced  at  the  handsome  bur- 
grave,  raised  both  her  arms  toward  heaven,  and 
took  a  fearful  oath  that  she  would  avenge  herself 
on  him  and  his  house ;  that,  whenever  one  of 
his  descendants  was  at  the  point  of  death,  she 
would  be  present,  as  the  burgrave  himself  was 
now  present  at  her  death  ;  that  she  would  never 
rest  in  her  grave,  but  live  and  walk,  though 
the  burgrave  had  her  executed,  and  that,  as  she 
was  before  him  now  at  h«;r  last  hour,  she  would 
appear  to  him  at  his  last  hour.  After  uttering 
these  words,  she  put  her  head  calmly  on  the  block. 
The  burgrave  then  had  her  buried  at  the  convent 
of  Himmelskron,  and,  by  virtue  of  an  old  ti 
the  Burgraves  of  Nuremberg  now  succeeded  to  the 
fiefs  of  the  Counts  of  Orlamunde,  whose  line  had 
Lecome  extinct.  The  Plassenburg,  with  Buireuth 


and  Burgundy,  and  all  the  possessions  of  the 
Counts  of  Orlamunde,  therefore  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Bnrgrave  Alben  the  Handsome.  He  did 
not  enjoy  the  inheritance  a  long  time,  for,  a  few 
years  afterward,  shortly  after  he  had  married  the 
beautiful  Countess  Beatrice  of  Hainault,  he  died 
very  suddenly.  His  wife  was  awakened  by  a  loud 
cry  he  uttered.  He  then  exclaimed, '  Cunigunda, 
do  you  come  already  to  take  me  away  ?  Woe  to 
me !  Woe  to  me ! '  All  became  still ;  the  count- 
ess called  for  the  servants  and  a  light.  They 
rushed  into  the  room  with  torches.  Burgrave 
Albert  the  Handsome  lay  in  his  bed  dead.  That, 
your  majesty,  is  the  history  of  the  White  Lady  of 
Baireuth." 

"This  lady,  then,  followed  the  Hohenzollern 
from  the  Plassenburg  to  Baireuth  and  Berlin  ?  " 
asked  Napoleon.  "  For  she  appears  sometimes 
at  Berlin,  does  she  not  ?  " 

"At  Berlin,  and  all  places  where  members  of 
the  house  of  Hohenzollern,  the  descendants  of  the 
Burgravps  of  Nuremberg,  are  about  to  die." 

"  Oh,  the  dear  lady,  then,  appears  only  to  the 
family  of  the  Hohenzollern,"  exclaimed  Napoleon, 
smiling.  "  Is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"  Xo,  your  majesty,  at  times  she  appears  also 
to  others,"  said  Schluter ;  "  she  walks  about  the 
palace,  and  if  there  is  any  one  in  her  way  whom 
she  dislikes,  she  tells  them  so,  and  angrily  orders 
him  away.  She  forgets  no  insult  heaped  upon  her 
house,  and  she  is  terrible  in  her  wrath." 

"  I  have  heard  of  it,"  exclaimed  the  emperor, 
gloomily.  "  My  generals  complained  vehemently 
of  the  annoyances  they  had  suffered  here  in  1806, 
owing  to  the  movements  of  this  lady.  You  were 
here  at  that  time,  were  you  not  ?" 

"  I  wa?,  sire,  and  so  I  was  when  General  d'Es- 
pagne,  in  1809,  established  his  headquarters  at 
this  palace." 

"  Ah,  I  remtmber,"  said  Napoleon  to  himself. 
"  Duroc  told  me  the  horrible  story  at  that  time. 
Te'.l  me  what  was  it  that  befell  General  d'Espagne 
here?" 

"  Sire,  the  general  had  arrived  late  at  night, 
and,  being  wrary,  had  immediately  retired.  In 
the  night  terrible  crtes  were  heard  in  his  room. 


/' 

((UN  17 


22 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


The  orderlies  hastened  into  it ;  the  general's  bed, 
which,  when  he  retired  for  the  night  stood  at  the 
wall,  was  now  in  the  middle  of  the  room  ;  it  was 
upset,  and,  having  fainted,  he  lay  under  it.  He 
was  placed  on  a  couch,  and  a  doctor  sent  for,  who 
bled  him,  and,  when  he  awoke,  gave  him  sedative 
powders.  The  general  declared  that  the  White 
Lady  had  appeared  to  him,  and  tried  to  kill  him. 
While  struggling  with  her,  his  bed  was  upset, 
and,  when  about  to  succumb,  he  uttered  loud 
cries  for  assistance.  He  described  all  the  particu- 
lars of  the  countenance,  form,  and  dress  of  the 
apparition,  and,  at  his  express  request,  I  had  to 
conduct  him  to  her  portrait.  As  soon  as  he  saw 
it,  he  turned  pale,  and  almost  sank  to  the  floor, 
muttering,  'It  is  she !  She  looked  exactly  like 
that  when  she  appeared  to  me  !  Her  apparition, 
doubtless,  indicated  my  impending  death  ! '  His 
officers  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  this  belief,  but 
he  adhered  to  his  conviction,  and  left  the  palace 
that  very  night  in  order  to  establish  his  head- 
quarters at  the  *  Fantaisie,'  the  king's  little  villa 
near  the  city.  On  the  following  morning  General 
d'Espagne  sent  a  large  detachment  of  soldiers  to 
this  palace  ;  they  had  to  open  the  floor  under  the 
direction  of  their  officers,  and  take  down  the  wall- 
paper, in  order  to  see  whether  there  were  any 
secret  trap-doors  or  hidden  entrances.*  But  they 
found  nothing,  for  the  White  Lady  needs  no 
theatrical  apparatus ;  she  goes  where  she  pleases, 
and  walls  and  locked  doors  open  to  her.  General 
d'Espagne,  however,  was  unable  to  overcome  his 
horror.  He  left  Baireuth  on  the  following  day, 
and  when  he  rode  out  of  the  gate  he  said,  'I 
heard  my  own  death-knell  here  at  Baireuth.  I 
shall  soon  die!'" 

"And  he  really  died  shortly  after,  for  he  was 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Asperu,"  f  said  Napoleon 
to  himself,  staring  gloomily  into  the  fire.  A  pause 
ensued ;  suddenly  the  emperor  rose.  "  It  is  all 
right,"  he  said.  "  Go  !  Your  story  of  the  White 
Lady  was  quite  entertaining.  I  hope  she  will 
keep  quiet  now.  Go ! — And  you,  too,  Roustan  ! 
I  will  afterward  call  you  ! "  Long  after  the  two 


*  Vide  Mirmtoti,  "  The  White  Lady,"  p.  IT. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  IT. 


had  withdrawn,  the  emperor  walked  slowly  up 
and  down  the  room.  He  stood  nt  length  in  front 
of  the  fireplace,  and  stared  moodily  into  the 
blazing  flames.  His  face  was  pale  and  gloomy. 
"  Foolish  stories,  which  no  man  of  sense  can  be 
lieve !  but  which,  nevertheless,  are  fulfilled  now 
and  then,"  he  added,  in  a  lower  voice.  "  Was  it 
not  predicted  to  Josephine  that  she  would  be- 
come an  empress;  and  that  not  death,  but  a 
woman,  would  hurl  her  from  the  throne?  The 
prophecy  was  fulfilled  !  Poor  Josephine !  I  bad 
to  desert  you,  and,  at  your  lonely  palace  of  Mai 
maison,  you  are  perhaps  praying  for  me  at  this 
hour,  because  you  know  I  am  about  to  brave 
new  dangers.  Poor  Josephine ! — you  were  my 
good  angel,  and,  since  you  are  no  longer  at  my 
side — no  matter !  "  the  emperor  interrupted  him- 
self ;  "  I  will  retire  to  rest."  He  advanced  several 
steps  toward  the  door  leading  into  his  bedroom, 
where  Roustan  and  Constant  were  waiting  for  him, 
but  stopping  said,  "  No,  I  will  first  arrange  my 
plans,  and  fight  my  decisive  battles  with  the  Em- 
peror Alexander."  He  returned  with  rapid  steps  to 
the  table  covered  with  maps,  and  resumed  his  seat 
in  the  easy-chair.  The  tapers  were  burning  dimly  ; 
the  flames  in  the  fireplace  flickered,  shedding  a 
dark-red  lustre  on  the  marble  face  of  the  emperor, 
who,  bending  over  the  map,  sat  motionless.  Per- 
haps it  was  the  heat,  or  the  profound  silence,  that 
lulled  him  to  sleep.  His  head  fell  back  into 
the  chair,  and  his  eyes  closed.  The  emperor 
slept,  but  his  sleep  was  not  calm,  and  his  fea- 
tures, which  when  awake  were  so  firm  and  mo- 
tionless, were  restless,  and  expressive  of  various 
emotions.  Once  he  exclaimed  in  a  tender  voice, 
"  My  father !  Do  you  at  last  come  to  me  ?  Oh, 
welcome,  father  ! "  And  a  joyous  expression 
overspread  the  countenance  of  the  sleeper ;  but 
it  soon  faded  away,  and  he  appeared  angry,  and 
his  lips  quivered.  "  No,  no,"  he  said,  with  a  fal- 
tering tongue,  impeded  by  sleep,  "no,  father, 
you  are  mistaken !  my  luck  does  not  resemble  the 
changing  seasons  ;  I  am  not  yet  in  autumn,  when 
the  fruits  drop  from  the  trees  and  winter  is  at 
hand."  He  paused  again,  and  his  face  assumed 
the  expression  of  an  attentive  listener.  "  What  I " 


NAPOLEON   AND   THE   WHITE   LADY. 


be  then  exclaimed  in  a  loud  voice,  "  you  say  my 
family  will  leave  me,  and  betray  me  in  adversity  ? 
No,  that  is  impossible,  I  have  lavished  kindnesses 
on  them,  I — "  He  paused,  and  seemed  to  listen 
again.  "Ah,"  he  exclaimed,  after  a  short  inter- 
-larting  violently,  "that  is  too  much!  All 
Europe  is  unable  to  overthrow  me.  My  name  is 
more  powerful  than  Fate ! " 

Awakened,  perhaps,  by  the  loud  sound  of  his 
own  voice,  he  opened  his  eyes  and  looked  around 
uneasily.  "  Ah,"  he  said,  putting  his  hand  on  his 
moist  forehead,  "  what  a  terrible  dream  it  was ! 
My  father  stood  before  me,  and  predicted  what 
would  befall  me.  He  prophesied  my  ruin !  He 
cautioned  me  against  my  relatives,  and  the  in- 
gratitude of  my  marshals!*  It  is  the  second 
time  that  this  is  predicted  to  me,  and  just  as  I 
now  saw  and  heard  my  father  in  my  dream,  the 
old  sorceress  spoke  to  me  by  the  pyramids  of 
Egypt"  And  the  emperor,  absorbed  in  his  reflec- 
tions, muttered  in  a  hollow  voice:  "'You  will 
have  two  wives,'  said  the  Egyptian  sorceress  to 
me ;  '  your  first  wife  you  will  unjustly  desert. 
Vour  second  wife  will  bear  you  a  son,  but  your 
misfortunes  will  nevertheless  begin  with  her.  You 
will  soon  cease  to  be  prosperous  and  power- 
ful. All  your  hopes  will  be  disappointed;  you 
will  be  forcibly  expelled,  and  cast  upon  a  foreign 
.•<.il,  hemmed  in  by  mountains  and  the  sky.  Be- 
ware of  your  relatives!  Your  own  blood  will  re- 
volt against  you  ! '  f  Nonsense,"  exclaimed  the 
emperor,  quickly  raising  his  head;  "all  this  is 
Tolly.  The  palace,  with  its  weird  traditions,  has 
infected  me,  and  I  scent  ghosts  in  the  air,  and 
transform  my  dreams  into  prophecies.  I  will  re- 
tire!" 

For  the  second  time  he  approached  the  door 
•  >f  the  bedroom,  but  suddenly  recoiled  and  stood 
with  dilated  eyes.  In  front  of  it  appeared  a  tall 
female  figure,  her  arms  spread  out  before  the 
door,  as  if  she  wished  to  prevent  the  emperor 
from  passing  out  A  long  white  dress  covered 
her  slender  form,  a  black  veil  concealed  her  bosom 


•  *Le  Normand,"'  vol.  ii.,  p.  421. 
t  This  propbecy  Is  historical—  Vi«l«  "  I,o  Norman* ' 
ToL  II.,  ; 


and  her  erect  head ;  but  behind  the  transparent 
tissue  of  the  veil  was  a  pale,  beautiful  face,  the 
eye»*  of  which  were  flashing  like  swords'  point? 
Breathless  with  horror,  he  fixed  his  eyes  stead 
fastlv  on  the  apparition,  that  approached  him  nov 
with  uplifted  arms.  Trembling  in  spite  of  him 
self,  he  drew  back,  and,  putting  his  hand  on  the 
back  of  the  easy-chair,  gazed  searchingly  at  the 
approaching  figure. 

"  You  dare  set  your  foot  into  the  house  of  the 
Hohenzollerns  ?  "  asked  the  spectre,  in  a  hollow, 
menacing  voice.  "You  come  hither  to  disturb 
the  repose  of  the  dead?  Flee,  audacious  man — 
flee,  for  destruction  is  pursuing  you ;  it  will  seiz* 
and  destroy  you!  Your  last  hour  has  come! 
Prepare  to  stand  before  your  Judge  !  " 

"  Ay.  you  will  kill  me,  then,  beautiful  lady  ?  " 
asked  Napoleon,  sneeringly.  "You  will  revenge 
the  defeats  I  have  inflicted  on  the  descendants  of 
Burgrave  Albert  the  Handsome,  on  the  battlle 
fields  of  Jena,  Eylau,  and  Friedland  ?  In  truth,  I 
should  have  thought  that  beautiful  Cunigunda  of 
Orlamunde  would  rather  welcome  me  as  a  friend, 
for  was  it  not  I  who  avenged  her  on  the  faithless 
house  of  Hohenzollern  ?  " 

"  You  try  to  mock  me,"  said  the  spectre,  "  for 
your  heart  is  filled  with  doubt,  and  your  soul  with 
pride.  But  beware,  Bonaparte — beware,  I  tell 
you  for  the  last  time — your  hour  has  come,  and 
every  step  you  advance  is  a  step  toward  your 
ruin.  Turn  back,  Bonaparte,  if  you  intend  to  be 
saved,  for  ruin  awaits  you  on  the  battle-fields  of 
Russia !  Turn  back,  for  the  souls  of  your  victims 
cry  to  God  for  vengeance,  and  demand  your  blood 
for  theirs — your  punishment  for  the.  ruthlessly  de- 
stroyed happiness  of  whole  nations!  Bonaparte, 
escape  from  the  soil  of  Germany,  and  dare  no 
longer  to  set  foot  upon  it,  for  disgraceful  defeats 
are  in  store  for  you  !  Return  to  France,  and  en- 
deavor to  conciliate  those  who  are  cursing  you  as 
a  perjurer  and  renegade ! " 

"  Who  are  they  who  dare  call  me  a  perjurer  and 
renegade?"  asked  Napoleon,  hastily. 

"  Who  are  they  ?  "  repeated  the  spectre,  advan- 
cing a  step  toward  the  emperor  and  fixing  her 
menacinr;  eyes  upon  him.  "  The  men  to  whon 


24 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


you  once  vowed  eternal  fidelity,  and  whom  you 
called  your  brethren— Philadeiphians ! " 

The  emperor  started  in  terror,  and  his  cheeks 
turned  livid.  His  features,  which  had  hitherto 
had  a  sneering,  scornful  air,  were  now  gloomy, 
and  he  stared  with  an  expression  of  undisguised 
fear  at  the  lady  who  stood  before  him  in  an  im- 
posing attitude,  with  her  arm  lifted  in  a  menacing 
manner. 

"The  Philadeiphians?"  asked  Napoleon,  tim- 
idly. "I  do  not  know  them." 

"  You  do ! "  said  the  spectre,  solemnly.  "  You 
do  know  that  the  invisible  ones  are  watching  you, 
and  will  punish  you  because  you  have  broken 
your  oath ! " 

"  I  know  of  no  oath ! " 

"  Woe  to  you  if  you  have  forgotten  it.  I  will 
repeat  it  to  you!  It  was  in  1789,  at  the  forest 
of  Fontainebleau,  that  you  appeared  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  brethren  and  requested  to  be  initiated. 
The  Philadeiphians  admitted  you  into  their  league 
and  received  your  oath.  Shall  I  repeat  this  oath 
to  you  ?  " 

"  Do  so  if  you  can  ! " 

"  You  swore  that  never  again  should  a  freeman 
obey  kings,  and  that  death  to  tyrants  under  all 
titles  and  in  all  governments  is  justifiable." 

"  That  was  the  formality  of  the  oath  of  every 
club  and  secret  society  at  that  time,"  exclaimed 
Napoleon,  contemptuously. 

"But  the  Philadeiphians  demanded  still  an- 
other written  oath  of  you.  It  read  as  follows: 
'  I  consent  that  my  life  be  taken  if  I  ever  become 
reconciled  to  royalty.  In  order  to  contribute  to 
its  eradication  in  Europe,  I  will  make  use  of  fire 
and  sword,  and,  when  the  society  to  which  I  be- 
long asks  me  to  do  so,  sacrifice  even  what  is  most 
precious  to  me.'  You  wrote  this  and  affixed  your 
name  to  it  with  your  blood."  * 

"  It  is  true,  I  did ! "  muttered  Napoleon.  "  I 
was  a  fool,  dreaming,  like  all  the  others,  of  the 
possibility  of  a  republic." 

"You  were  a  believer,  and  have  become  a  ren- 
egade," exclaimed  the  spectre,  in  a  threatening 


*  "Le  Normand,"  voL  ii.,  p.  516. 


voice.  "  The  invisible  ones  will  judge  and  punish 
you,  unless  you  make  haste  to  conciliate  them. 
You  have  forgotten  that  you  stand  under  the 
yoke  of  the  Philadeiphians.  The  Emperor  Na- 
poleon believes  that  he  has  power  to  blot  out 
with  the  blood  of  subjugated  nations  the  words 
of  the  sacred  oath  which  Lieutenant  Bonaparte 
swore  to  the  Philadelphiaus  in  the  forest  of  Fon- 
tainebleau." 

"  And  I  have  the  power  to  do  so !  "  exclaimed 
Napoleon,  proudly.  "  I  stretch  out  my  arm  over 
Europe,  and  she  bows  before  me." 

"But  the  Philadeiphians  will  break  your  arm, 
and  convert  your  crowns  into  dust,  unless  you 
make  haste  to  conciliate  them,"  exclaimed  the 
spectre.  "  Turn  back,  for  it  is  yet  time.  Return 
to  France,  renounce  conquests :  France  wants  no 
more  wars ;  she  is  cursing  the  tyrant  who  refuses 
peace  to  her  and  to  Europe.  There  has  been 
bloodshed  enough.  Take  an  oath  at  this  hour 
that  you  will  renounce  your  ambition,  and  no 
longer  pursue  a  career  of  crime  and  blood ! 
Swear  that  you  will  return  to  France  to-mor- 
row ! " 

"  Never ! "  ejaculated  Napoleon,  vehemently, 
and  coloring  with  anger. 

"Swear  that  you  will  return,  or  I  will  kill 
you!"  cried  the  spectre.  "I  will  kill  you  as  a 
wolf.  Swear  that  you  will  return  !  " 

"Never!" 

"Ah,  you  will  not  swear — you  prefer  to  die, 
then,"  and  at  a  bound  she  was  by  the  Emperor's 
side,  gra?ped  him  with  iron  hands,  and  threw  him 
down  on  the  easy-chair.  "  You  prefer  to  die  !  " 
she  repeated  wildly,  tearing  the  black  veil  from 
her  head  and  showing  her  face  unveiled.  It  was 
livid  as  that  of  a  corpse,  the  bloodless  lips  quiver- 
ing, and  her  red  eyes  flaming  with  rage. 

"  You  prefer  to  die  !  "  exclaimed  the  spectre, 
for  the  third  time.  "  Well,  die ! "  And  her  arms 
encircled  Napoleon's  breast  like  iron  rings,  her 
glanr.e  seemed  to  pierce  his  face,  her  lips  opened 
and  exhibited  terrible  teeth,  as  if  ready  to  tear 
his  breast.  The  emperor  was  unable  to  breathe; 
he  felt  his  strength  giving  way,  and,  with  a  last 
effort,  he  uttered  a  shrill  cry  calling  for  help. 


inish 


NAPOLEON  AND  THE  WHITE   LADY. 


25 


''•Sire,  sire,  awake!"  cried  an  anxious  voice  by 
his  side.  Napoleon  started  up,  and  violently 
pushed  back  the  hand  which  touched  his  arm. 
"  Who  is  there  ?  "  he  asked,  angrily. 

M  Sire,  it  is  I ! — Constant !  "  said  the  faithful 
valet  de  chambre.  "  I  heard  in  the  antechamber 
your  majesty's  groans  and  cries ;  I  rushud  in  and 
saw  you  writhing  on  the  easy-chair.  A  bad  dream 
seemed  to  torment  your  majesty,  and  I  therefore 
ventured  to  awaken  you." 

"  And  I  am  glad  you  did,  Constant,"  said  the 
emperor.  "  Ah,  my  friend,  what  a  terrible  dream 
it  was !  The  White  Lady  was  here ;  she  threw 
herself  upon  me  like  a  tigress;  she  wanted  to 
tear  me  and  drink  my  heart's  blood." 

"Your  majesty  had  once  before  a  similar 
dream,"  said  Constant,  smiling. 

"  Where — where  was  it  ?  "  asked  Napoleon, 
hastily,  wiping  the  cold  sweat  from  his  brow. 

"Sire,  it  was  at  Erfurt,  when  the  Emperor 
Alexander  was  there."  * 

"  Yes,  I  remember,"  said  the  emperor,  in  a  low 
voice.  "  It  seems  this  bad  dream  returns  as  soon 
as  I  approach  Alexander.  Does  Fate  intend  to 
warn  me  ?  Is  he  to  be  the  wolf  that  will  one 
day  lacerate  my  breast  ?  Ah,  it  was  an  awful 
dream,  indeed,  and  even  now  it  seems  to  me  as 
really  seen  and  heard."  He  glanced  around  the 
gloomy  room.  Every  thing  was  in  precisely  the 
same  condition  as  when  he  had  entered  it. 
The  maps  lay  undisturbed  on  the  table  before 
him;  the  colored  pins  stood  in  long  rows  like 
little  armies,  and  opposite  each  other,  drawn  up 
in  line  of  battle.  But  the  tapers  had  burned 
down,  and  the  fire  was  nearly  extinguished.  Na- 
poleon rose  shudderiugly  from  his  easy-chair.  "  I 
will  go  to  rest,"  he  said. 

Constant,  taking  a  candlestick,  preceded  the 
emperor,  and  opened  the  door  of  the  adjoining 
room.     Fifteen  minutes  afterward  Napoleon  was 
in  bed,  and  Constant  and  Roustan  hud  with*  I 
into  the  antechamber. 

But  this  sleep  was  not  to  be  of  loticr  duration. 
A  loud  cry,  uttered  by  his  master,  invalicnc-d  Con- 


*  Constant,  uM6motres,"  vol.  iv.,  p.  79. 


slant,  and  caused  him  to  rush  into  the  bedroom. 
The  emperor  had  raised  himself  in  bed.  "  Con- 
stant," he  said,  "  it  was  no  dream  this  time.  The 
White  Lady  was  here — I  saw  her  distinctly — I 
hud  not  fallen  asleep,  my  eyes  and  all  my  senses 
were  awake.  I  saw  the  tall  white  figure,  her 
head  covered  with  the  black  veil,  at  the  wal 
there,  as  though  she  had  grown  from  the  ground. 
At  a  bound  she  was  at  my  bedside,  and  raised 
her  hands.  I  quickly  seized  her  and  called  for 
you.  She  then  glided  from  my  fingers  and  dis- 
appeared. Like  General  d'Espagne,  I  say  there 
must  be  a  trap-door  somewhere  in  this  room. 
Call  Roustan,  take  lights,  and  examine  the  walls 
and  the  floor.'' 

The  valet  de  chambre  hastened  to  fetch  Rous- 
tan ;  they  took  lights  and  made  a  thorough  ex- 
amination, but  hi  vain.  The  oaken  planks  of  the 
floor  were  firmly  joined,  and  the  dark  velvet 
hangings  glued  to  the  walls. 

"  Well,  then,  the  White  Lady  has  fooled  me  in 
another  dream,"  said  the  emperor.  "  Go !  Let 
us  sleep."  The  two  servants  withdrew. 

About  an  hour  had  elapsed,  when  another  cry, 
uttered  by  the  emperor,  called  Constant  back 
into  the  bedroom.  Seized  with  dismay,  he  halt- 
ed at  the  door.  The  bed  was  in  the  middle 
of  the  room ;  the  table  which  stood  beside  it  was 
upset,  and  the  night-lamp  lay  thrown  on  the 
floor. 

"  I  hope  that  no  accident  has  befallen  your 
majesty,''  said  Constant,  rushing  toward  the  en\ 
peror. 

"Xo,"  said  Napoleon.  "But  this  accursed 
white  spectre  was  here  again.  It  wanted  to  treat 
me  like  General  d'Espagne  ;  to  upset  my  bed  and 
throttle  me.  I  awoke  just  when  this  horrible 
monster  of  a  woman  pushed  the  bed  with  the 
strength  of  a  giant  into  the  middle  of  the  roon» 
I  called  for  you,  and  she  disappeared.  As  thr 
White  Lady  apparently  iocs  not  like  several  pel 
sons  to  be  in  the  room,  yon  and  Roustan  must 
remain  here  to-night." 

"And,  with  your  majesty's  leave,  each  of  ua 
will  hold  a  pistol  in  his  hand,  that  we  may  fire  at 
the  apparition  if  it  return." 


26 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


"Ah,  my  friend,  -ou  know  little  of  the  power 
of  spectres,"  said  Napoleon,  smiling.  "  When 
you  have  fired  at  them,  they  laugh  scornfully, 
throw  the  bullet  back  to  you  and  pass  on  entirely 
uninjured.  That  is  their  fashion.  But  you  may 
take  your  pistols,  and  if  she  has  still  a  human 
heart  in  her  breast,  she  will  feel  some  respect 
for  it." 

And  the  White  Lady  really  seemed  to  have  a 
human  heart.  Constant  and  Roustan,  who  sat 
on  the  floor  beside  the  emperor's  bed  with  cocked 
pistols,  waited  in  vain  for  the  return  of  the  appa- 
rition. Every  thing  remained  quiet ;  nothing 
stirred  in  the  room,  where  the  emperor,  guarded 
by  his  faithful  servants,  now  at  last  enjoyed  re- 
pose. 

When  he  rose  on  the  following  morning,  his 
face  was  even  paler  and  gloomier  than  usual. 
He  who  generally  on  being  dressed  conversed  in 
an  affable  manner  with  his  servants,  remained  si- 
lent and  grave  that  day,  and  muttered  only  occa- 
sionally, "The  accursed  palace!  The  miserable 
spectre-hole ! "  * 

Constant  and  Roustan,  having  finished  the  em- 
peror's toilet,  were  about  leaving  the  room,  when 
he  called  them  back  by  a  gesture.  "  You  will 
not  mention  any  thing  about  what  happened 
here  last  night !  "  he  said,  imperiously.  "  If  I 
find  out  that  you  disobey  my  order,  I  shall  be  very 
angry.  Go!1'  And  the  emperor  went  into  the 
Gallery  of  Palms  in  order  to  receive  the  reports 
of  his  suite  and  give  the  usual  audiences.  With 
a  nod  and  a  dismal  look  he  greeted  Count  Mun- 
ster,  who  inquired,  with  the  fawning  smile  of  a 
true  courtier,  whether  his  majesty  had  passed  an 
agreeable  night. 

"Your  castellan,  then,  has  not  informed  you 
of  the  horrible  noise  last  night  in  the  palace  ?  " 
asked  Napoleon,  angrily.  "  You  ought  to  get 
better  nails,  count,  to  hang  up  paintings,  so  that 
they  do  not  fall  down.  He  who  wants  to  hang 
anybody  or  any  thing,  even  though  it  be  but  a 
painting,  ought  to  have  at  least  a  substantial  gal- 
lows." 


*  Historical.— Vide  MinutoH,  "  The  White  Lady,"  p.  17. 


"Sire,"  faltered  Count  Munster,  "  I  do  not 
prehend — this  palace — " 

"  Is  not  even  fit  to  be  a  gallows,  for  it  drops 
those  who  have  been  hung  in  it,"  exclaimed  Na- 
poleon, vehemently.  "It  is  an  accursed  place, 
and  the  air  in  it  is  as  sultry  and  oppressive  as  in 
a  rat-hole.  Have  the  carriages  brought  to  the 
door.  Let  us  depart!"  He  did  not  deign  the 
count  another  glance,  and  returned  into  the  ad- 
joining room,  whither  none  but  the  grand  mar- 
shal and  his  adjutants  were  permitted  to  follow. 

Fifteen  minutes  afterward,  the  emperor,  with 
his  numerous  suite,  left  the  palace  of  Baireuth 
and  set  out  for  Plauen,  where  he  intended  to  join 
the  Empress  Maria  Louisa,  who  had  stopped 
there  overnight,  and  continue  with  her  the  jour- 
ney to  Dresden.  The  streets  of  Baireuth,  which 
had  presented  so  animated  a  spectacle  the  day 
before,  were  at  this  early  hour  quiet  and  desert- 
ed ;  all  the  windows  were  closed ;  only  here  and 
there  a  wondering,  inquisitive  face  appeared  be- 
hind the  panes  and  looked  at  the  carriages  that 
rolled  through  the  streets,  and  at  the  melancholy 
countenance  of  the  emperor,  who  sat  in  his  open 
calash.  When  out  of  the  gate,  he  turned  again, 
and  cast  an  angry  glance  on  the  palace,  whose 
high  gray  walls  were  brightened  by  the  morning 
sun.  "  An  accursed  old  palace ! "  he  muttered  to 
himself.  "  I  shall  never  spend  there  another 
night."  *  And  leaning  back  in  a  corner  of  the  car- 
riage he  gazed  in  silence  at  the  sky. 

Count  Munster,  however,  stood  inside  the  pa> 
ace  of  Baireuth,  at  the  window  of  the  Gallery  of 
Palms,  and  looked  anxiously  after  the  emperor. 
The  carriages  disappeared  at  a  bend  in  the  road 
behind  the  green  willows,  and  the  count  turned  to 
Castellan  Schluter,  who  was  standing  behind  him. 

"But  tell  me,  for  Heaven's  sake,  Schluter," 
exclaimed  the  count,  "  what  did  the  emperor  refer 
to  ?  What  happened  to  him  last  night  ?  " 

"  There  happened  to  him  what  will  happen  to 
all  those  who  dare  disquiet  the  White  Lady  of 
Baireuth  or  defy  her  power,"  said  Schluter,  sol- 
emnly. 

*  Napoleon's  own  words.— Vide  MinutoH,  p.  17. 


com 

Irops 


NAPOLEON   AND   THE   WHITE   LADY. 


"  You  really  believe,  then,  that  she  appeared 
to  him  ?  "  asked  the  count,  in  terror. 

"  The  emperor  sent  for  me  late  last  night,  ami 
again  this  morning.  Shall  I  toll  your  excellency 
what  it  was  for?  The  portrait  of  the  White 
I  a<h,  which  I  had  put  yesterday  into  the  cabinet 
adjoining  the  audience-hall  in  the  other  whig  of 
the  palace,  had  walked  over  to  this  side,  and,  in 
the  room  directly  above  the  emperor,  had  thrown 
itself  down  with  so  much  violence,  that  the  noise 
resounded  through  the  whole  building." 

"  But  that  is  altogether  impossible,"  exclaimed 
Count  Munster,  in  dismay.  "  Why,  you  told  me 
that  the  portrait  was  standing  in  the  other  wing 
of  the  palace,  and  that  you  had  carefully  locked 
all  the  doors." 

"  But  I  told  your  excellency  also  that  locks 
and  bolts  are  unable  to  impede  her  progress,  and 
that,  when  she  intends  to  wander,  the  walls  open 
to  her,  and  that  all  obstructions  give  way.  The 
air  wafted  her  over  to  the  enemy  of  her  house, 
and,  by  the  thunder  of  her  wrath,  she  awakened 
him  from  his  slumber." 

"  And  that  was  the  reason  why  the  emperor 
«ent  for  you  last  night  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  had  the  honor  of  narrating  to  him  the 
history  of  the  White  Lady,"  said  Schluter,  laugh- 
ing scornfully.  "  I  did  so,  and  told  him  also 
what  happened  here  to  General  d'Espagne." 

"  But  did  you  not  say  the  emperor  had  sent  for 
you  again  this  morning  ?  " 

The  castellan  no 

"  Well,  what  did  he  want  again  ?  " 

"  I  had  to  describe  to  him  the  costume  in  which 
the  White  Lady  is  in  the  habit  of  walking — her 
dress,  her  veil,  her  countenance — in  short,  I  had 
to  tell  him  all  about  her  appearance.  I  proposed 
at  last  that  I  would  have  the  portrait  brought  to 
him,  that  he  mi»ht  himself  look  at  it ;  but,  when 
I  did  so,  he  cast  a  furious  glance  on  me,  and  said 

(in  an  angry  voice,  '  No,  no,  I  do  not  want  to  see 
it !  Let  me  alone  with  your  doomed  portrait ! '  * 
In  truth,  I  believe  the  all-powerful  emperor  was 
frightened,  and  the  White  Lady  had  paid  him  a 

•  Historical.— Vide  Minutoli,  p.  17. 


visit  In  fact,  he  turned  quite  pale!"  And 
Schluter  burst  into  loud  and  scornful  laughter. 

Count  Munster  shook  his  head  gravely,  and 
hastened  to  leave  the  Gallery  of  Palms  and  the 
haunted  palace. 

The  castellan  remained  there  and  listened  until 
the  count's  footsteps  died  away.  He  then  hur- 
ried to  the  rooms  which  the  emperor  had  occu- 
pied. When  he  arrived  at  Napoleon's  bedroom, 
he  pushed  the  bed  aside,  and  stooped  down  to 
the  floor,  at  which  he  looked  with  searching  eyes. 
"It  is  all  right!  Nothing  is  to  be  seen! "he 
muttered  to  himself.  "  The  White  Lady  will  yet 
be  able  often  to  walk  here  ! "  He  burst  into  loud 
laughter  and  left  the  imperial  apartments  to  re- 
turn to  his  own  rooms,  which  were  situated  on 
the  ground-floor.  "  I  will  now  put  away  my 
dear  treasures,  that  no  uninitiated  eye  may  be- 
hold them,"  he  said,  carefully  locking  the  door. 
"  Come,  my  mysterious  treasures  !  Come  !"  He 
drew  from  his  bed  a  long  white  dress,  a  small 
cloak  trimmed  with  fur,  and  a  long  black  veil,* 
and  while  carefully  folding  up  these  articles,  which 
he  locked  in  a  trunk  standing  under  the  bed,  he 
sang  in  a  loud  and  merry  voice : 

t  "  Ein  Kors\  Ihr  kennt  den  Namen  schon, 
Beit  vierzehn  Jahr  und  druber, 
Spricht  alien  Nationen  Hohn, 
Giebt  Fursten— Nasenstuber, 
Sturzt  Throne  wie  ein  Kartenhans 
Und  treibt  das  Wesen  gar  zu  Kraus, 
Nicht  Bona— Malaparte  I  "  $ 


*  These  articles,  belong-in?  to  the  toilet  of  the  White 
Lady,  were  found  in  Scbluter's  trunk  when  he  died,  U 
1820.— Vide  Minntoli,  p.  17. 

t  A  comic  song,  sung  in  Germany  in  1812. 

$  A  Corsican — you  know  his  name — 

For  more  than  fourteen  years 
Has  scorned  the  nations,  to  their  shame, 

And  pulled  their  princes1  ears. 
He  plays  sad  tricks  upon  his  foes. 

And,  marching  with  his  guards, 
He  casts  down  kingdoms  as  he  goes 

Like  houses  made  of  cards. 
A  better  name  for  him  would  be 
Not  Bono,  but  JfaJo-part6. 


28 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

NAPOLEON     AT     DRESDEN. 

JOT,  happiness,  and  love,  reigned  at  the  court 
of  the  King  of  Saxony.  Napoleon  bad  honored 
the  royal  house  of  Saxony  with  a  visit ;  he  had 
oome  to  Dresden  to  spend  a  few  days  in  the  fam- 
ily circle  of  Frederick  Augustus,  whom  he  flatter- 
ingly called  his  "  cher  papa"  He  had  also  come 
to  embrace  his  father-in-law,  the  Emperor  of  Aus- 
tria, before  setting  out  for  Russia,  and  to  shake 
hands  with  his  ally  the  King  of  Prussia ;  and, 
finally,  to  gather  around  him  again  his  vassals, 
the  princes  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine, 
and,  in  the  face  of  Europe,  to  receive  the  homage 
of  kings,  emperors,  and  princes. 

Amid  the  ringing  of  bells  and  the  light  of 
torches,  Napoleon  and  Maria  Louisa  made  their 
entry  into  Dresden.  The  late  hour  of  the  night, 
when  the  imperial  couple  arrived,  prevented  the 
population  from  greeting  them  with  cheers.  But 
the  good  people  of  the  Saxon  capital  were  not  to 
be  deprived  of  the  happiness  of  bidding  Napoleon 
welcome,  and  seeing  his  beautiful  young  empress 
The  court,  therefore,  arranged  a  drive  in  open 
calashes  on  the  day  after  ;  and  everywhere  on  the 
streets  through  which  the  procession  passed  the 
people  stood  in  vast  crowds.  The  windows  of  the 
houses  were  opened,  and  beautiful  ladies  looked 
out  of  them.  The  imperial  and  royal  carriages 
made  but  slow  headway,  for  thousands  of  excited 
spectators  preceded  them,  and  thousands  more 
surrounding  the  carriages  looked  up  with  in- 
quisitive eyes  to  the  distinguished  persons  who, 
greeting  and  smiling,  bowed  to  them  on  all  sides. 
But  the  multitude  were  silent;  not  a  cheer  re- 
sounded— not  a  "  Vive  Cempercur" — and  the 
praise  of  Napoleon,  that  was  uttered  by  the  lips 
of  princes,  lacked  the  wonted  accompaniment  of 
popular  enthusiasm. 

Good-natured  King  Frederick  Angustus  felt  all 
this  as  a  rebuke  administered  to  himself,  as  a  re- 
flection on  his  hospitality,  and  he  looked  with  an 
expression  full  of  uneasiness  and  affection  at  the 
emperor,  who  was  sitting  beside  him.  But  Napo- 


"" 


leon's  countenance  was  as  calm  and  cold  as 
always  was.  Not  a  flash  of  inward  anger  was 
seen  in  those  unfathomable  eyes.  He  conversed 
quietly  and  almost  smilingly  with  bis  consort, 
the  Empress  Maria  Louisa,  and  did  not  even 
seem  to  notice  :hat  the  people  received  him  in 
silence. 

"  Well,  he  shall  have  a  most  gratifying  com- 
pensation at  the  theatre  to-night,"  said  Frederick 
Augustus  to  himself.  "  The  audience  will  there 
at  least  receive  the  great  Napoleon  with  enthusi- 
astic cheers ;  and  when,  on  his  return,  he  sees  all 
Dresden  glittering  in  the  illumination  that  is  to 
take  place,  he  will  have  to  admit,  after  all,  that 
my  good  Saxons,  like  their  king,  love  and  admire 
him." 

King  Frederick  Augustus  was  not  mistaken. 
— The  vast  and  brilliant  audience,  that  in  the 
evening  assembled  at  the  royal  theatre,  received 
the  members  of  the  court,  on  their  appearance, 
with  deafening  cheers ;  all  rose  from  their  seats 
and  shouted  with  constantly  recurring  enthu- 
siasm, "  Long  live  Napoleon !  Long  live  the  Em- 
peror Francis !  Long  live  our  dear  King  Fred- 
erick Augustus !  "  The  band  accompanied  these 
cheers,  the  ladies  waved  their  bouquets,  and  the 
gentlemen  their  hats  and  handkerchiefs,  and  when 
this  outburst  subsided,  hundreds  of  eyes  were 
fixed  on  the  royal  box,  to  watch  every  motion  of 
Napoleon's  countenance,  and  admire  him  in  the 
circle  of  his  family ;  for  this  large  gathering  of 
princes  and  kings  were  now  bis  family,  and  the 
son  of  the  Corsican  lawyer  was  its  head.  There 
was  the  Emperor  Francis  of  Austria,  who  had 
arrived  but  a  few  hours  before,  to  greet  his  be- 
loved son-in  law,  whom  he  had  not  seen  since  the 
battle  of  Austerlitz.  The  emperor  was  accom- 
panied by  his  young  consort,  the  Empress  Lu- 
dovica.  Every  one  knew  that  she  hated  Napo- 
leon; that  her  proud  heart  never  could  forgive 
him  the  humiliations  which  he  haJ  inflicted  on 
Austria,  and  that  she  had  consented  only  with 
the  utmost  reluctance,  and  with  bitter  tears,  to 
the  marriage  of  her  step-daughter,  the  Arch- 
duchess Maria  Louisa,  with  the  conqueror  of 
Austria.  And  yet,  notwithstanding  her  hatred 


NAPOLEON  AT  DRES1/EN. 


29 


grief,  and  humiliated  pride,  the  Empress  Ludovica 
had  likewise  come  to  Dresden  to  witness  the  tri- 
umph of  Napoleon,  to  be  the  second  lady  at  this 
court,  and  the  first  in  the  suite  of  the  Empress 
Maria  Louisa.  There  were  the  King  and  Queen 
of  Westphalia,  sister-in-law  of  Napoleon  and 
daughter  of  the  King  of  Wurtemberg,  who  deemed 
himself  happy  that  Napoleon  was  a  relative  of  his. 
There  were,  besides,  the  Grand-Duke  jf  Wurz- 
burg,  brother  of  the  Emperor  Francis,  and  now 
ancle  of  Bonaparte;  the  Grand-Duke  of  Baden, 
Napoleon's  nephew,  and  the  King  of  Saxony,  the 
cher  papa  of  Napoleon;  and  finally,  the  crowd  of 
the  petty  German  princes  of  the  Confederation  of 
the  Rhine,  who  had  eagerly  hurried  to  Dresden  in 
order  to  do  homage  to  their  protector,  and  seek 
after  new  gifts  of  territories  and  titles  from  the 
all-powerful  master  of  Germany.  But  these  per- 
sonages formed  only  part  of  the  suite;  no  one 
paid  attention  to  them ;  they  stood  humbly  and 
modestly  in  the  background,  and  only  the  two 
emperors  and  empresses,  the  Queens  of  Saxony 
and  Westphalia,  and  the  King  of  Saxony,  occu- 
pied front  seats.  The  King  of  Saxony  conducted 
Napoleon  to  the  first  gilded  easy-chair  on  the  right 
side ;  to  him  belonged  the  seat  of  honor  here  as 
everywhere.  He  was  first  in  the  line  of  emperors 
and  kings.  By  his  side  sat  Maria  Louisa,  spark- 
ling with  diamonds,  which  covered  her  head,  neck, 
arms,  and  the  golden  belt  around  her  slender 
waist.  Her  countenance  was  joyful,  and  never 
had  she  feasted  her  eyes  on  her  husband  with 
more  heart-felt  pride  than  during  this  evening, 
when,  sitting  beside  him,  she  eclipsed  her  im- 
step-mother  in  the  magnificence  of  her 
toilet  and  the  splendor  of  her  rank.  It  v 

•  ipolron  had   taken   h's  seat  that  th--  K;n- 
r  and  Empress  of  Austria,  and  all  the  other 
gs  and   prinet-s,   followed  his   example.     The 
ml   immediately  commenced   the  overture,  and 

;H  seen 

e  radiant  tempi.-  of  the  sun,  surrounded  by  the 
lliantlv-adorned   crowd    of  priests   and 

"lieir  arms,  not  to  t'.ic  temple 
of  the  sun,  but  toward  Napoleon's  box,  and, 
tmid  their  soul-stirring  chorus,  the  high-priest  ' 


when, 
perial 


stepped  forth  from  the  temple.  Advancing  to  the 
of  the  stage,  he  bowed  to  the  imperial  sun, 
and  commenced  singing  in  a  powerful  voice, — 
"  The  sun  rises  gloriouslj  on  the  firmament,  illu- 
minating and  heating  the  world;  but  thou,  hia 
greater  brother,  thou  conquerest  him,  and  he  drives 
back  his  car,  acknowledging  that,  since  thou  art 
here,  the  world  needs  no  other  sun."  While  the 
high-priest  sang  these  words  the  temple  on  the 
stage  suddenly  paled,  and  over  its  entrance  the 
following  words  appeared  in  large  letters  of  gold  : 
"  Di  Lui  men  grande  e  men  chiaro  il  Sole.'1''  * 

At  this  sight,  cheers  burst  from  all  sides  of  the 
brilliantly  decorated  house;  the  audience  rose 
from  their  seats  and  turned  toward  the  imperial 
box  to  salute  Napoleon ;  the  Emperor  of  Austria, 
the  King  of  Saxony,  and  the  princes  of  the  Con- 
federation of  the  Rhine,  joined  in  the  applause. 
But  Napoleon,  to  whom  these  cheers  were  ad- 
dressed, did  not  even  seem  to  notice  them.  He 
had  suddenly  risen  and  turned  his  back  to  the 
stage,  regardless  of  the  high-priest  and  his  em- 
phatic words.  Heedless  of  the  cheers  and  ap- 
plause, he  left  his  place  and  hastened  to  the  Em- 
peror Francis,  who  was  sitting  on  the  left  side, 
close  to  the  two  empresses.  "  Sire,"  said  Napo- 
leon, "  I  request  your  majesty  to  exchange  seats 
with  me,  and  pardon  me  for  erroneously  taking 
the  chair  that  was  intended  for  you." 

"  No,  no ;  it  is  no  mistake  at  all,"  exclaimed 
the  Emperor  Francis,  hastily.  "  It  is  all  right  as 
it  is,  and  your  majesty  must  stay  there,  for  that 
easy-chair  is  the  seat  of  honor." 

"  That  is  precisely  the  reason  why  it  should  be 

occupied  by  your  majesty,  the  august  Emperor  of 

Austria,  my  beloved  and  revered  father-in-law," 

said  Napoleon,  bowing  his  head  lower  than  he 

had  ever  before  done  to  any  prince  in  the  world. 

"  Come,  sire,  permit  me  to  conduct  you  to  the 

•hat  is  due  to  you  alone."     With  gentle  vio- 

he  took  the  emperor's  hand  and  conducted 

him  to  the  seat  at  the  right  side  of  Maria  Louisa, 


*  "  Less  preat  and  brilliant  than  be  Is  the  snn."  Thf 
author  of  this  cantata,  performed  in  honor  of  Napoleon 
was  Orlandi.  an  Italian;  Morlacchi  had  composed  th( 
music. 


30 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


"  My  dear  Louisa,"  be  said,  turning  to  his  con- 
sort, "  I  renounce  the  happiness  of  sitting  beside 
you,  because  this  seat  is  due  to  the  head  of  our 
family,  the  father  of  my  consort,  the  grandfather 
of  my  son.  You  may  embrace  the  opportunity 
to  tell  our  dear  papa  all  about  the  little  King  of 
Rome."  He  greeted  Maria  Louisa  with  a  beam- 
ing smile,  and  then  repaired  to  the  seat  which  the 
Emperor  Francis  had  occupied,  at  the  left  side  of 
the  Empress  Ludovica.  The  smile  was  still  on 
his  face ;  he  sat  down  on  this  chair,  and,  turning 
to  the  empress,  his  mother-in-law,  asked  her,  al- 
most humbly,  if  she  would  grant  him  the  happi- 
ness of  sitting  by  her  side. 

Ludovica  felt  flattered  ;  the  gentle,  suppliant 
voice  of  the  emperor,  his  smile,  and  flashing  eyes, 
exerted  their  wonted  charm  upon  her.  She  had 
armed  her  heart  against  the  arrogant  master  of 
the  world,  but,  before  the  kind  and  almost  humble 
bearing  of  Napoleon,  her  arms  sank  to  the  ground, 
and  she  who  had  hitherto  felt  nothing  but  hatred 
against  him,  regarded  him  now  with  mingled  as- 
tonishment and  admiration. 

Napoleon  seemed. to  have  read  the  depths  of 
her  heart,  for  his  face  grew  even  milder,  and  his 
smile  more  fascinating.  "  Your  majesty  has  hated 
me  intensely,  I  suppose  ? "  he  asked,  in  a  low 
voice.  "  Oh,  do  not  deny  it ;  I  have  been  portrayed 
to  you  in  very  repulsive  colors  ?  " 

Ludovica  looked  at  him  admiringly.  "  I  must 
confess,  sire,"  she  said,  "  that  not  one  of  the  por- 
traits of  your  majesty  which  I  have  eeen,  is  like 
you." 

"  Oh,  I  believe  so,"  exclaimed  Napoleon,  has- 
tily ;  "  they  have  always  painted  me  too  dark,  and 
the  portraits  shown  to  your  majesty  doubtless  have 
been  of  that  description ;  but  before  you,  madame, 
the  Moor  would  like  to  wash  his  face,  and  I  wish 
you  could  see  me  painted  less  repulsively." 

"  Sire,"  said  the  empress,  smiling,  "  did  we  not 
sec  but  a  few  minutes  since  that  your  image  is 
even  more  radiant  than  the  sun  ?  " 

"  Ah,  those  are  silly  coups  de  theatre"  ex- 
cliiimed  Napoleon.  "  It  is  no  great  honor,  in- 
deed, to  surpass  the  splendor  of  a  sun  made  out 
of  paper.  If  the  lamplighter  had  approached  too 


close  to  it  it  would  have  burned,  while  I  think 
that  I  can  stand  in  fire  without  running  the  risk 
of  perishing.  However,  the  fire  of  anger  flashing 
from  your  eyes,  madame,  would  annihilate  me, 
and  I  pray  you,  therefore,  to  have  mercy  on  me. 
Pray,  let  us  be  frank.  Why  do  you  hate  me  ?  " 
He  looked  at  the  empress  with  so  mild  and  smil- 
ing an  expression,  that  she  felt  confused  by  it, 
and  a  faint  blush  suffused  her  beautiful  face. 

"  No,"  she  said,  in  a  low  voice,  "  who  tells  you 
that  ?  How  would  it  be  possible  to  hate  the  man 
to  whom  all  Europe  bows  in  admiration  ?  " 

"  I  have  put  my  foot  on  the  neck  of  Europe; 
I  have  tamed  the  wild  horse,  and  it  acknowledges 
me  as  its  master,"  said  Napoleon,  proudly.  "  But 
is  that  a  reason  why  you  should  hate  me?  Let 
all  lie  in  the  dust  before  me,  but  Austria  shall 
stand  erect  by  my  side,  for  the  Emperor  of  Aus- 
tria is  my  father-in-law,  and  though  I  do  not 
venture  to  say  that  the  beautiful  young  Em- 
press of  Austria  is  my  mother-in-law,  I  may 
be  allowed  to  say  that  she  is  the  mother  of  my 
consort,  and  that  I  admire  and  esteem  her  with 
all  my  heart.  Austria  has  nothing  to  fear,  so  long 
as  she  is  friendly  toward  me.  She  shall  share 
my  triumphs  ;  and,  when  at  last  all  Europe  is  pros- 
trate, the  Emperors  of  France  and  Austria  will 
stand  side  by  side,  and  divide  the  world  between 
them." 

"  And  one  will  take  his  Herculaneum,  and  the 
other  his  Pompeii,"  said  the  empress,  sarcastically. 

"  Ah,  you  mean  to  say  that  the  world  we  shall 
have  conquered  will  consist  only  of  ruined  cities 
and  dead  subjects  ?  "  asked  Napoleon,  gloomily. 

"Sire,"  said  Ludovica,  gently,  "I  mean  that 
when  Vesuvius  shows  itself  to  the  wondering 
world  in  its  whole  majesty  and  beauty,  it  cannot 
prevent  the  molten  lava,  which  rises  from  its 
crater,  as  a  natural  consequence,  from  rushing 
down  its  sides,  and  spreading  everywhere  death 
and  destruction." 

"Well,"  exclaimed  Napoleon,  smiling,  "if you 
simile  is  correct,  the  molten  lava  will  soon  inun- 
date Russia,  and  carry  terror,  death,  and  destruc- 
tion into  the  empire  of  the  arrogant  czar." 

"  Ah,  sire,"  said  Ludovica,  gravely,  "  Russia  i« 


NAPOLEON   AT   DRESDEN. 


31 


so  very  cold  that  I  believe  even  the  fires  of  Vesu- 
vius would  be  extinguished  there,  the  molten  lava 
would  freeze,  or,  flowing  back,  injure  Vesuvius 
it-elf." 

"  Oh,  no,  madarac,"  exclaimed  Napoleon,  has- 
tily, "  Vesuvius  will  not  be  extinguished,  for  di- 
vine fire  is  burning  in  its  heart." 

"And  Russia  will  not  thaw,  for  it  is  a  divine 
frost  that  freezes  every  thing  approaching  her," 
said  Ludovica,  gently. 

Napoleon  cast  on  her  one  of  his  quick,  angry 
glances.  "  Madame,"  he  said,  "  I—" 

At  this  moment  the  whole  audience  burst  into 
loud  and  enthusiastic  cheers,  and  shouted,  "  Long 
live  the  emperor  !  Long  live  the  hero  who  con- 
quers the  world ! " 

Napoleon  interrupted  himself,  and  turned  his 
eyes  toward  the  stage.  The  temple  of  the  sun 
was  still  dark,  but  a  new  brilliant  light  was  beam- 
ing over  it ;  in  its  middle  was  the  word  "  Napo- 
l3on "  in  large  flaming  letters,  which  illumined 
the  whole  scene.  At  this  sight  the  audience  were 
unable  to  restrain  their  delight,  and  burst  into 
the  deafening  cheers  which  had  interrupted  Na- 
poleon's words. 

The  King  of  Saxony  was  evidently  pleased  with 
this  outburst  of  enthusiasm.  "  Now,"  he  thought, 
"  the  great  Napoleon  will  forget  the  disagreeable 
scene  of  this  morning.  The  people  then  were 
silent,  and  admired,  but  to-night  they  have  re- 
covered their  speech ;  and  when  we  leave  the 
theatre,  and  behold  the  whole  city  in  a  flood  of 
l^tit,  Napoleon  will  feel  convinced  that  my  sub- 
jects love  him  sincerely. — But  what  is  that  ?  The 
erupcror  rises.  Does  he  intend  already  to  leave 
theatre  ?  "  And  he  hastened  to  Napoleon, 
advanced  toward  him.  "  Let  us  leave,  sire," 
"  These  flatteries  are  more  than  enough, 
see  the  sun  has  set  here." 

"  But  he  is  still  among  us,  sire,"  said  Frederick 
Augustus.  "And  if  it  has  grown  dark  on  the 
••in  i-  simply,  that  all  the  light  now 
of  Dresden,  to  prove  to  the  great 
Napoleon  that  there  is  no  night  where  he  is— that 
his  presence  turns  darkness  into  light,  and  night 
into  day." 


u  Ah,"  said  Napoleon,  in  a  tired,  wearied  tone, 
u  :tn  illumination  then  has  been  arranged  ?  " 

"Sire,  my  people,  as  well  as  I,  cannot  find 
words  to  utter  to  your  majesty  the  transports 
with  which  your  visit  has  filled  our  hearts,  and  I 
hope  you  will  see  this  in  the  lights  shining  at 
every  window.  I  request  your  majesty  not  to  re 
turn  directly  to  the  palace,  but  first  ride  through 
the  city." 

Napoleon  nodded  assent.  "  Let  us  do  so,  chcr 
papa"  he  said  ;  "  let  us  take  a  look  at  your  illu- 
mination ! "  lie  offered  his  arm  to  Maria  Louisa, 
and  left  the  box  with  her.  The  crowd  of  kings, 
dukes,  and  princes,  followed  him  in  haste. 

As  the  King  of  Saxony  descended  the  staircase 
with  his  consort,  Chamberlain  von  Planitz  met 
him  with  a  pale  and  frightened  face. 

"  Well,"  asked  the  king,  "  I  suppose  the  illu- 
mination has  already  commenced  ?  It  must  be  a 
splendid  spectacle  ! " 

"  Your  majesty,"  said  the  chamberlain,  hi  a 
low  voice,  "  the  royal  palace  and  the  public 
buildings  are  brilliantly  lit  up,  but  the  houses 
of  the  citizens  are  dark,  and  the  streets  are  de 
serted." 

"  But,"  exclaimed  the  king,  in  dismay,  "  did 
not  the  police  command  the  citizens  to  illuminate 
their  houses  ?  " 

"  Fes,  your  majesty,  the  police  have  done  their 
duty." 

'•And  yet— " 

"  And  yet,  sire,  all  the  houses  are  dark.  It  is 
as  if  the  whole  population  had  conspired  to  dis- 
obey the  order.  The  police  have  again  given 
orders  ;  they  received  everywhere  the  same  reply, 
that  neither  oil  nor  candles  were  to  be  had  any 

"The  stubborn  people  ought  to  ha\e  been  told 
that  they  would  be  punished  for  this." 

"  The  police  tried  this,  too,  your  majesty, 
threatening  that  every  citizen  who  did  not  obey 
should  be  fined  a  dollar,  and  all  declared  their 
readiness  to  pay  rather  than  illuminate." 

"  That  is  open  rebellion,"  said  the  king,  sigh 
ing.  "  The  streets,  then,  are  dark  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sire." 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


"  Then  we  must  not  take  the  intended  ride 
through  the  city,"  exclaimed  the  king,  anxious- 
ly. "  Make  haste,  baron,  countermand  the  ride, 
and—" 

At  this  moment  the  first  carriage  rolled  from 
the  portal.  "It  is  too  late,"  groaned  the  king. 
"The  emperor  has  already  started.  He  will  wit- 
ness our  humiliation." 

"  Possibly,  he  may  drive  immediately  to  the 
palace,"  said  the  queen.  "  He  seemed  tired  and 
exhausted — " 

"  No,  no,"  said  the  king,  "  he  consented  to  see 
the  illumination,  and  the  outriders  are  instructed 
accordingly.  I  myself  marked  out  the  route. 
But,  an  expedient  occurs  to  me.  Quick,  Baron 
von  Planitz !  Go  to  the  outrider  of  my  carriage. 
Tell  him  to  follow  the  imperial  carriage  as  fast  as 
he  can  ride.  He  must  overtake  it,  though  his 
horse  die  under  him.  He  must  order  the  driver 
to  turn  and  pass  down  Augustus  Street  to  the 
Linden,  and  then  slowly  across  the  square,  to  the 
palace.  Make  haste ! "  The  chamberlain  has- 
tened to  carry  out  the  king's  orders. 

"  And  we  ?  "  asked  the  queen — "  shall  we  also 
follow  him  ?  " 

"  No,  we  return  to  the  palace,  and  will  wait  for 
him  there.  The  others,  of  course,  will  follow  the 
imperial  carriage,  and  I  hope  we  shall  soon  see 
the  two  emperors  again."  Profoundly  sighing, 
the  king  conducted  his  consort  to  the  carriage, 
and  drove  with  her  toward  the  palnce.  A  flood 
of  light  beamed  upon  them  in  the  palace  square. 
Huge  pillars,  covered  with  festoons  of  colored 
lamps,  stood  in  front  of  the  long  palace  bridge, 
and  were  connected  with  each  other  by  brilliant 
girandoles.  Four  similar  pillars  were  in  front  of 
the  main  portal  of  the  Catholic  church  at  the  en- 
trance of  Augustus  Street.  Around  the  square 
altars  were  erected,  on  which  naphtha  was  burn- 
ing. On  the  royal  palace  the  Austrian  and 
French  coats-of-arms  displayed  all  their  colors 
with  heraldic  accuracy.  It  was  a  dazzling  spec- 
tacle, and  even  the  king  himself  rejoiced  at  the 
beautiful  and  imposing  effect.  "I  think,"  he 
said,  pointing  to  the  pillars,  "  I  think  this  svill  be 
agreeable  to  him." 


"  Yes,  but  I  am  afraid  that  will  be  disagreeable 
to  him,"  said  the  queen,  pointing  to  the  Neustadt, 
lying  dark  on  the  other  side  of  the  Elbe. 

"  Heaven  grant  that  he  may  not  see  it !  "  said 
the  king,  sighing ;  he  then  leaned  back  and  closed 
his  eyes  until  they  halted  in  front  of  the  portal. 
"  I  shall  remain  here  until  the  emperors  arrive," 
he  added,  bowing  to  his  consort.  With  anxious 
eyes  he  gazed  upon  the  place,  and  listened  in  sus- 
pense to  any  distant  noise.  After  waiting  fifteen 
minutes,  the  roll  of  approaching  wheels  was  heard, 
and  now  they  thundered  across  the  square  and 
entered  the  palace  portal.  King  Frederick  Augus- 
tus, hat  in  hand,  stepped  up  with  a  most  submis- 
sive air  to  the  first  carriage,  the  door  of  which 
was  just  opened  by  lackeys  in  gorgeous  liveries. 
He  lifted  the  young  empress  Maria  Louisa  out, 
and  then  offered  his  hand  almost  timidly  to  Na- 
poleon to  assist  him  also.  With  a  quick  wave 
of  his  hand  he  refused  assistance,  and  alighted. 
Anger  was  burning  in  his  eyes. 

"  We  left  the  theatre  at  an  earlier  hour  than 
the  citizens  expected,"  said  the  king,  timidly, 
"  and  that  is  the  reason  why  the  illumination  has 
not  yet  generally  commenced." 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Napoleon,  in  a  petulant  voice ; 
" your  illumination  is  magnificent;  as  to  the  in- 
habitants of  Dresden,  it  seems  to  me,  they  are  the 
children  of  the  sun  that  we  saw  at  the  theatre — 
their  lights  have  gone  out."  And  the  emperor, 
coldly  bowing  to  the  king,  and  offering  his  arm  to 
his  consort,  walked  with  her  into  the  palace. 

"  He  is  not  in  good  humor,"  muttered  Frederick 
Augustus,  in  dismay.  "  Oh,  he  is  incensed  at 
me ! " 

At  this  moment  the  Emperor  Francis,  with  his 
consort,  met  him.  "A  very  pretty  idea,"  said 
the  emperor,  with  a  laughing  face,  "  to  unite  the 
coats-of-arms  of  Austria  and  France  in  such  a 
blaze  of  variegated  light !  It  gladdens  one's  heart 
to  behold  them.  I  thank  your  majesty  for  hav- 
ing thus  exhibited  my  coat-of-arms.  It  looks  ad 
mirably  by  Ihe  side  of  that  of  France." 


> 

• 


NAPOLEON'S  HIGH-BORN   ANCESTORS. 


33 


anj 

* 


CHAPTER  V. 
NAPOLEON'S  HIGH-BORN  ANCESTORS. 

A  NKW  guest  had  arrived  at  Dresden  to  do 
homage  to  Napoleon — the  King  of  Prussia,  ac- 
companied by  the  young  crown  prince,  and  Chan- 
cellor von  Hardenberg.  The  two  inimical  friends, 
the  Emperor  of  France  and  the  King  of  Prussia, 
met  for  the  first  time  at  the  rooms  of  the  Queen 
of  Saxony,  and  shook  hands  with  forced  kindness. 
They  exchanged  but  a  few  words,  when  Napoleon 
withdrew,  inviting  the  king  to  participate  in  the 
gala  dinner  and  ball  to  take  place  that  day.  The 
king  accepted  the  invitation  with  a  bow,  without 
replying  a  word,  and  repaired  to  the  Marcolini 
palace,  where  quarters  had  been  provided  for  him 
and  his  suite.  Not  a  member  of  the  royal  family 
deemed  it  necessary  to  accompany  him.  He  went 
away  quietly  and  alone.  His  arrival  had  not 
been  greeted,  like  that  of  Napoleon  and  the  Em- 
peror of  Austria,  with  ringing  of  bells  and  cannon 
salutes,  nor  had  the  soldiers  formed  in  line  on 
both  sides  of  the  streets  through  which  he  passed 
on  entering  the  city.  The  court  had  not  shown 
any  attention  to  him,  but  allowed  him  to  make 
entry  into  Dresden  without  any  display  what- 
ever. 

But  if  the  court  thought  they  might  with  im- 
punity violate  the  rules  of  etiquette  because  Fred- 
erick William  was  unfortunate,  the  people  indem- 
nified him  for  this  neglect,  and  honored  him. 
Thousands  hurried  out  of  the  gate  to  cheer  him 
his  arrival,  and  escorted  him  amid  the  most 
tic  acclamations  to  the  royal  palace, 
he  left  it  again,  the  crowd  followed  him  to 
lini  palace,  and  cheered  so  long  in  front 
it  that  the  king  appeared  on  the  balcony.  It 
true,  the  anterooms  of  the  king  were  deserted ; 
smiling  courtiers'  faces,  no  chamberlains 
orncd  with  glittering  orders,  no  dignitaii 

princes,    or   dukes,  were   there;   but 
below  in  the  street  was  hi>  n-al  anteroom— there 
devoted  courtiers  were  waiting  for  their  royal 
',  looking  up  to  his  windows,  and  longing 
his   coming.     The  smiles   with   which   they 


greeted  Frederick  William  were  no  parasites' 
smiles,  and  the  love  beaming  from  'those  count- 
less eyes  was  faithful  and  true. 

Beneath  the  residence  of  Napoleon  the  people 
did  not  stand,  as  usual,  in  silent  curiosity  staring 
at  the  window?,  behind  which  from  tfme  to  time 
the  pale  face  of  the  emperor  showed  itself.  The 
street  was  empty — those  who  formerly  stood  there 
were  now  joyously  thronging  'in  front  of  the 
King  of  Prussia's  quarters ;  they  had  recovered 
their  voices,  and  often  cheered  in  honor  of  Fred- 
erick William  III. 

The  anterooms  of  Napoleon  indeed  presented 
an  animated  spectacle.  A  brilliant  crowd  filled 
them  at  an  early  hour ;  there  were  generals  and 
marshals,  the  princes  of  the  Confederation  of  the 
Rhine,  the  dukes,  princes,  and  kings  of  Germany, 
whom  Napoleon  had  newly  created — all  longing 
for  an  audience,  in  order  to  wrest  from  Napo- 
leon's munificence  a  province  belonging  to  a 
neighbor,  a  title,  or  a  prominent  office.  Germany 
was  in  the  hands  of  Napoleon,  and  to  bow  the 
lower  to  him  was  to  be  raised  the  higher.  In 
these  rooms  of  the  emperor  there  was  the  un- 
wonted spectacle  of  German  sovereigns  soliciting 
instead  of  granting  favors ;  and,  instead  of  being 
surrounded  by,  were  themselves  courtiers,  who,  in 
the  most  submissive  manner,  sought  the  interces- 
sion of  adjutants  and  chamberlains,  to  procure 
admission  to  the  imperial  presence  and  favor. 

And  all  these  courtiers  gave  vent  to  their  love 
and  admiration  for  Napoleon  in  terms  of  the  most 
extravagant  praise.  They  spoke  with  prophetic 
ecstasy  of  the  fresh  laurels  that  Napoleon  was  to 
bind  upon  bis  brow,  and  of  Alexander's  madness 
to  resist  a  conqueror  destined  to  make  new  tri- 
umphs for  the  glory  of  France  and  the  humiliation 
of  Russia.  Yet,  when  two  or  three  of  those  ex- 
pectant gentlemen  stood  in  some  window-niche, 
and  believed  themselves  beyond  the  reach  of  in- 
discreet ears,  they  dared  to  ask  each  other,  in  a 
low  and  anxious  tone,  whether  all  this  splendor 
would  not  soon  vanish  as  a  meteor — whether  one 
might  not  see  the  aurora  of  a  new  day  dawning — 
whether  the  battles  into  which  Napoleon  was 
about  to  plunge  so  recklessly  would  not  result  in 


34 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


the  downfall  of  him  whom  they  publicly  extolled, 
but  secretly  cursed.  But,  to  these  whispered 
questions  the  brilliant  anterooms,  the  marshals 
of  the  empire,  crowned  with  victory,  the  dukes 
and  princes,  the  court  of  Napoleon,  composed  of 
the  sovereigns  of  Germany,  made  a  triumphant 
reply.  Secret  hope  could  hardly  survive  in  the 
recollection  of  the  greatness  and  invariable  good 
fortune  of  Napoleon,  and  they  who  desired  the 
humiliation  of  the  conqueror  yielded  to  submission. 
Returning  to  the  crowd  of  princely  courtiers, 
they  renewed  their  enthusiasm,  and  joined  in  the 
plaudits  of  Napoleon's  admirers. 

When  the  emperor,  with  Maria  Louisa,  entered 
the  room,  all  pressed  forward,  anxious  to  receive 
a  glance,  a  smile,  or  a  pleasant  salutation.  Rank 
and  etiquette  were  overlooked  ;  there  was  but  one 
master,  one  sovereign,  to  whom  all  were  doing 
homage.  Rushing  toward  him,  each  one  tried  to 
outstrip  the  other ;  and  many  a  high  dignitary, 
prime  minister,  prince,  duke,  or  king,  was  pushed 
aside  by  an  inferior.  Napoleon  stood  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  room,  uttering  words  of  condescending 
affability  to  the  fortunate  men  nearest  him. 

Suddenly  cheers  resounded  in  the  streets,  rat- 
tling the  window-panes.  Napoleon  looked  in  the 
direction  of  the  windows.  "  What  is  that  ?  "  he 
askevi,  turning  to  the  Duke  de  Bassano. 

"  Sire,"  said  the  duke,  "  the  good  people  of  Dres- 
den are  impatient  to  see  their  imperial  majesties 
of  France,  and  pay  them  their  respects." 

More  deafening  shouts  were  heard.  Napoleon 
smiled,  and  hastily  walking  with  his  consort 
through  the  circle  of  the  courtiers,  stepped  to 
the  open  window.  He  frowned  as  he  looked 
down.  An  immense  crowd  had  gathered  below, 
but  their  faces  were  not  turned  toward  the  windows 
of  the  royal  palace,  and  their  cheers  were  not  in- 
tended for  the  emperor.  The  multitude  crossed 
the  square,  and  in  their  midst  drove  slowly  an 
open  carriage,  surrounded  by  the  enthusiastic 
people.  In  this  carriage  sat  the  King  of  Prussia, 
to  whom  were  given  the  loud  greetings  mistaken 
by  Napoleon.  He  understood  it  at  a  glance,  and, 
stepping  back  from  the  window  with  the  empress, 
turned  to  Grand-Marshal  Duroc.  who  was  stand- 


ing by  his  side.  "See  that  the  populace  go 
home,"  he  said,  hastily,  "and  that  they  no 
longer  disturb  the  peace  of  the  city  by  indecent 
and  riotous  proceedings.  I  do  not  wish  to  hear 
any  more  yelling  near  the  palace !  " 

Duroc  bowed,  and  withdrew  to  instruct  the  po- 
lice officers  not  to  tolerate  any  similar  conduct  on 
the  part  of  the  citizens.  The  emperor  meanwhile 
turned  to  Duke  Augustus  of  Gotba,  who  had  just 
succeeded  in  penetrating  through  the  ranks  of 
courtiers,  with  his  broad  shoulders  and  colossal 
form. 

"  Ah,  you  are  back  again,  duke  ?  "  asked  the 
emperor,  kindly.  "  Did  you  attend  thoroughly  to 
your  government  affairs  ?  " 

"I  did,  sire,"  said  the  duke,  nearly  bowing  to 
the  ground,  and  then  seizing  the  emperor's  hand 
to  press  it  to  his  lips. 

"  Well,  I  must  confess  that  you  accomplished 
your  task  with  great  rapidity.  Was  it  not  three 
days  since  you  took  leave  of  us  to  go  to  Gotha?  " 

"  Yes,  sire,  I  set  out  three  days  ago." 

"  And  you  are  back  already !  You  performed 
the  trip  and  your  official  business  in  so  short  a 
time  !  How  large  is  your  duchy,  then  ?  " 

"Sire,"  said  the  Duke  of  Gotha,  quickly,  "it 
is  as  large  as  your  majesty  commands  it  to  be."  * 

Napoleon's  smile  was  reflected  in  the  faces  of 
those  seeking  his  favors. 

At  this  moment  the  doors  of  the  outer  ante- 
room opened,  and  on  the  threshold  appeared  the 
grave  and  dignified  form  of  King  Frederick  Wil- 
liam. The  courtiers,  with  an  impatient  expres- 
sion, receded  anxiously,  as  though  afraid  of  con- 
tact with  this  unfortunate  man,  who  had  no  ter- 
ritories, no  riches,  no  honors  to  offer  them,  but  had 
come  as  a  vassal  to  pacify  the  wrath  of  Napoleon, 
and  save  at  least  a  remnant  of  his  kingdom.  But 
the  king  did  not  come  with  craven  heart ;  he  did 
not  hasten  his  approach  to  the  emperor  with 
fawning  submissiveness,  but  slowly,  with  his  head 
proudly  erect,  and  a  grave  air. 

Napoleon  received  him  with  a  haughty  nod. 
"Your  majesty,  you  must  have  had  a  trouble- 


*  This  reply  is  historical. 


NAPOLEON'S  HIGH-BORN   ANCESTORS. 


35 


gome  drive  from  your  quarters  to  the  royal  palace," 
he  said  harshly.  "I  noticed  that  the  gaping 
crowd  were  thronging  about  your  carriage  and 
annoying  you." 

"  Pardon  me,  sire,"  said  the  king,  "  the  people 
did  not  annoy  me.  They  did  me  the  honor  of  bid- 
me  welcome,  and  this  was  the  more  generous, 
as  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  are  favored  by  For- 
tune. But  the  German  people  yield  sometimes  to 
generous  impulses,  and  show  thereby  how  little 
they  know  of  the  etiquette  and  sagacity  of  cour- 
tiers." 

While  uttering  these  words,  the  king  glanced 
"with  his  clear,  calm  eyes — in  which  a  slightly  sar- 
castic expression  was  to  be  seen — at  the  multi- 
tude of  brilliantly  adorned  and  distinguished  gen- 
tlemen who  tried  to  get  as  far  as  possible  from 
him.  Napoleon  smiled.  He  himself  despised  syco- 
phancy sufficiently  to  be  pleased  with  this  rebuke. 
But  his  severe  look  returned,  and  he  gazed  with 
some  indignation  upon  the  tall  form  of  the  King  of 
Prussia.  He  noticed  that,  while  himself  appeared 
in  silk  stockings  and  buckled  shoes,  the  king  had 
come  in  long  trousers  and  boots. 

"  Your  majesty,  doubtless,  was  not  informed 
that  there  would  be  a  ball  after  the  banquet  ?  " 
asked  Napoleon,  pointing  to  the  king's  boots. 

"  I  was,  sire,  but  since  the  death  of  my  con- 
sort I  have  not  danced." 

"But  etiquette-,"  exclainu-d  Napoleon,  vehe- 
mently, "  etiquette  is — " 

"Sire,"  interrupted  the  king,  in  a  calm  and 
dignified  tone,  "  etiquette  is  intended  for  parasites 
and  people  of  the  court,  and  it  is  very  proper  for 
them  to  adhere  to  it.  But  a  sovereign  king,  I 
should  think,  has  a  right  to  disregard  it,  and  follow 
the  promptings  of  his  own  inclinations." 

The  door  of  the  anteroom  opened  again,  and 
the  grand  marshal  appeared  to  announce  dinner. 
The  emperor  offered  his  arm  to  Maria  Louisa, 

receded  by  the  high  'li^nitaries  and  the  officers 
of  his  household,  and  followed  by  the  swarm  of 
princes  and  gentlemen  of  the  courts.  The  King 
of  Prussia,  taking  the  place  to  which  his  rank  en- 
titled him,  walked  on  the  other  side  of  the  em- 
press, and  entered  the  dining-hall  at  the  same 


time  with  Napoleon,  amid  the  notes  of  the  im- 
perial band.  Napoleon  walked  with  his  consort 
to  his  guests,  who  were  waiting  for  him  in  the 
centre  of  the  hall — the  Emperor  and  Empress  of 
Austria,  and  the  King  and  Queen  of  Saxony. 

The  banquet  was  a  distinguished  one,  and  the 
French  cooks  of  Napoleon's  household  had  dis- 
played all  their  culinary  skill  to  satisfy  the  palate 
of  even  the  most  fastidious  epicures.  Napoleon, 
as  usual,  gave  his  guests  but  little  tune  to  revel 
in  the  delicacies  prepared  for  them.  Scarcely 
half  an  hour  had  elapsed  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  dinner,  when  he  rose,  and  thereby 
gave  the  signal  that  the  gala-dinner  was  at  an 
end. 

The  Emperor  Francis,  who  was  almost  always 
in  good-humor,  could  not  refrain  from  frowning, 
and,  after  offering  his  arm  to  his  consort  to  con- 
duct her  to  the  saloon,  where  coffee  was  to  be 
served,  he  muttered,  "I  do  not  know,  but  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  Emperor  Napoleon  eats  too 
little." 

"  And  yet  he  has  so  hearty  an  appetite,  that  he 
is  able  to  swallow  and  digest  the  territories  of 
sovereigns,"  whispered  the  Empress  Ludovica, 
with  a  sneer.  "  He  is  now  as  sated  as  an  ana- 
conda after  devouring  an  ox." 

"  Yes,  but  we  poor  mortals  are  still  hungry," 
said  Francis,  thoughtfully.  "It  does  not  do  us 
any  good  that  his  appetite  is  satisfied." 

"  There  will  be  a  day  when  our  hunger  shall  be 
appeased,  and  he  starve,"  said  the  empress. 

"  Hush  ! "  whispered  Francis,  "  not  a  word 
against  him !  He  is  my  son-in-law,  Ludovica. 
And,  besides,  he  has  an  appetite  strong  enough 
yet  to  swallow  another  ox." 

"  He  will  get  it  in  Russia,  I  suppose  ? "  said 
Ludovica,  quickly. 

"  Yes,"  said  Francis.  "  He  explained  his  whole 
plan  to  me  and  Metternich  for  over  an  hour  to- 
day, and  proved  to  us  that  four  weeks  hence 
there  would  be  no  Russian  emperor  ;  that  Russia 
would  fall  to  ruins  and  decay.  He  dwelt  on  a 
great  many  other  things,  and  told  us  of  gigantic 
schemes,  which,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  did  not  com 
prehend  very  well  Let  me  confess  to  you," 


36 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


he  whispered,  standing  near  the  door  of  the  re- 
ception-room, "that  his  words  almost  frightened 
me.  His  heart  may  be  all  right,  but  as  to  his 
head,  I  am  afraid  there  is  something  wrong 
about  it."  * 

Ludovica  smiled.  "  Do  you  believe,  then,  my 
husband,  that  he  has  really  a  heart  ?  "  she  asked. 
44  But  as  to  his  head,  the  princes  and  nations  of 
Europe,  I  hope,  will  soon  find  an  opportunity  to 
set  it  right." 

"  Hush  ! "  said  Francis  again ;  "  he  is  my  son- 
in-law." 

"  And  because  he  is  your  son-in-law,  your  ma- 
jesty should  hesitate  no  longer  to  deliver  to  him, 
or  rather  to  his  consort,  the  precious  gift  which 
you  ordered  for  her,  and  which  arrived  to-day." 

"  It  is  true,"  exclaimed  Francis.  "  Let  us  at 
once  present  the  gift  to  Maria  Louisa." 

He  entered  the  saloon  and  hastily 'approached 
his  daughter,  who  stood  with  Napoleon  in  the 
centre  of  the  room,  and  was  just  handing  him  a 
cup  of  coffee,  to  which  she  herself  had  added 
sugar  and  cream.f 

"Louisa,"  said  Francis,  kindly  nodding  as  he 
approached  her,  "I  have  a  little  gift  for  you, 
which  I  hope  will  be  acceptable.  I  ordered  it 
several  months  since,  but  when  we  set  out  from 
Vienna  it  was  not  ready  To-day,  however,  it  has 
arrived,  and,  as  we  are  now  in  a  family  circle,  I 
may  as  well  present  it  to  you.  That  is  to  say," 
added  the  emperor,  bowing  to  Napoleon,  "  if  your 
majesty  permits  me  to  do  so." 

"  Your  majesty  was  right  in  saying  that  we  are 
here  a  family  circle,"  said  Napoleon,  smiling; 
"  and  as  the  father  is  always  the  head  and  mas- 
ter, I  have  nothing  to  permit,  but  only  to  pray 
that  your  majesty  may  make  what  present  your 
love  has  chosen  for  her." 

"  And  I  assure  you,  father,"  exclaimed  Maria 
Louisa,  smiling,  "  I  am  as  anxious  to  know  what 

*  The  emperor's  own  words.— Vide  Hormayer's  "  Le- 
bensbilder,"  vol.  iii. 

t  The  Empress  Josephine,  in  her  tender  care  for  Na- 
poleon, who  frequently  forgot  to  take  his  coffee,  was  in 
the  habit  of  preparing  a  cup  for  him  after  dinner,  and 
presenting  it  to  him.  Maria  Louisa  had  adopted  Jose- 
phine's habit 


you  have  for  me  as  I  was  at  the  time  when  I  was 
a  little  archduchess,  and  when  your  majesty  prom- 
ised me  a  surprise.  Let  me,  therefore,  see  your 
gift." 

Francis  smiled,  and,  walking  to  the  open  door 
of  the  adjoining  room  (where  the  dukes,  who  did 
not  belong  to  the  imperial  family,  the  princes,  the 
marshals,  and  courtiers,  were  assembled),  made  a  • 
sign  to  one  of  the  gentlemen,  who  stood  near  the 
door.  The  latter  immediately  left  the  room,  and 
returned  after  a  few  minutes  with  an  oblong, 
narrow  something,  carefully  wrapped  in  a  piece 
of  gold  brocatel,  which  he  presented  to  the  em- 
peror with  a  respectful  bow.  Francis  took  it 
hastily,  and  approached  Maria  Louisa  with  a  sol- 
emn air.  "  Here,  Louisa,"  he  said,  kindly,  "  here 
is  my  present.  It  will  show  you  what,  it  is  true, 
every  day  proves  to  admiring  Europe,  namely, 
that  genuine  royal  blood  is  flowing  in  the  veins 
of  your  husband." 

Maria  Louisa  opened  the  covering  with  inquisi- 
tive impatience,  and  there  appeared  under  it  a 
golden  box,  ornamented  with  diamonds  and  pearls. 
u  What  magnificent  diamonds  ! "  she  exclaimed. 

"  What  skilful  work  ! "  said  Napoleon,  smil- 
ing. 

"The  box  was  made  by  Benvenuto  Cellini," 
said  Francis ;  "  it  was  highly  prized  by  my  la- 
mented father,  the  Emperor  Leopold,  who  brought 
it  from  Florence  to  Vienna.  But  that  is  not  the 
principal  thing — the  contents  are  more  important. 
Here  is  the  key,  Louisa ;  open  the  box ! "  He 
handed  her  a  golden  key,  and  Maria  Louisa  ap- 
plied it  to  the  key-hole,  adorned  with  large  ori- 
ental turquoises.  Around  her  stood  the  Emperor 
and  Empress  of  Austria,  the  King  and  Queen  of 
Saxony,  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  the  Grand-duke 
of  Wurzburg ;  Napoleon  was  close  beside  her. 
All  eyes  were  expressive  of  curiosity  and  sus- 
pense. Nothing  was  there  but  a  roll  of  parch- 
ment. Maria  Louisa  unfolded  it.  "  A  pedigree ! " 
she  exclaimed,  wonderingly. 

"  Yes,  a  pedigree,"  said  the  Emperor  Francis, 
merrily,  "  but  a  very  precious  and  beautiful  one, 
which  you  may  put  into  the  cradle  of  the  little 
King  of  Rome,  and  from  which  he  may  learn  hia 


NAPOLEON'S  DEPARTURE  FROM  DRESDEN. 


37 


letters.  Sire,"  he  then  added,  turning  to  Napo- 
leon, "  your  majesty  must  allow  me  to  add  an- 
Dther  jewel  to  your  imperial  crown.  I  moan,  this 
pedigree.  It  proves  irrefutably  that  your  majesty 
i=  the  descendant  of  a  glorious  old  sovereign 
family,  which  ruled  over  Treviso  during  the  mid- 
dle ages.  Signer  Giacamonte,  the  most  renowned 
genealogist  in  all  Italy,  devoted  himself,  at  my 
request,  for  a  whole  year  to  this  study,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  proving  that  the  Bonaparte  family  is  of 
ancient  and  sovereign  origin.** 

"  That  is  a  splendid  discovery,"  exclaimed 
Maria  'Louisa,  with  delight ;  "  my  little  King  of 
Rome,  consequently,  has  a  very  respectable  num- 
ber of  distinguished  ancestors  ?  " 

"More  than  fifty!"  exclaimed  her  father, 
proudly.  "  Look  here ;  this  is  the  founder  of 
the  whole  family,  the  Duca  di  Buon  et  Malaparte ; 
:e  lived  in  the  twelfth  century." 

He  pointed  to  the  genealogical  trunk  of  the 
beautifully  painted  and  ornamented  pedigree,  of 
which  Maria  Louisa  held  the  lower  end,  while  the 
King  and  Queen  of  Saxony  obligingly  took  hold 
of  the  upper  end.  The  King  of  Prussia  stood 
beside  them  and  witnessed  this  strange  scene 
with  &  scarcely  perceptible  smile,  while  the  Era- 
press  Ludovica  looked  with  undisguised  scorn 
'nto  the  joy-excited  countenance  of  her  step- 
daughter. Napoleon  surveyed  the  faces  of  all 
present  with  a  rapid  glance,  and  an  expression 
of  sublime  pride  overspread  his  countenance. 

"  Look."  exclaimed  the  Emperor  Francis,  bend- 
ing over  the  pedigree,  "there  is  his  name! 
There  is  the  founder  of  Napoleon's  family." 

At  this  moment  Napoleon  laid  his  hand  gently 
on  his  shoulder.  "Oh,  no,"  he  said,  "the 
founder  of  that  family  stands  here." 

"Where,  then?"  asked  Francis,  eagerly,  still 
bending  over  and  looking  for  the  name. 

"If  your  mnj^ty  d^ires  to  see  him,  you  must 
be  so  kind  as  to  avert  your  eyes  from  that  piece 

parchment,  and  turn  them  toward  me,"  said 
Napoleon,  raising  his  voice. 

Francis  looked  up  and  gazed  wonderingly  upon 
his  son-in-law.  Napoleon  smiled ;  it  was  a  tri- 
ompbint  smile.  "  I,  and  I  alone,  am  the  founder 


of  Napoleon's  family,"  be  said,  slowly  and  sol 
eranly.  "  I  am  the  ancestor  of  those  who  beat 
my  name.  The  King  of  Rome  needs  no  other, 
unless  it  be  that  your  majesty  should  count  every 
victory  which  his  father  gained  an  ancestor,  and 
compose  his  pedigree  from  the  laurels  I  have  ob- 
tained in  Europe  and  Africa.  My  son  has  a  right 
to  despise  ancestors  invisible  in  the  darkness  of 
by-gone  centuries,  whom  history  does  not  men- 
tion, while  the  vainest  genealogy  can  scarcely 
discover  that  they  lived  and  died.  My  grandsons 
and  great-grandsons  need  not  seek  the  name  of 
the  founder  of  their  family  on  decayed  parch- 
ments and  confused  pedigrees ;  they  only  need 
read  the  pages  of  history.  They  will  also  find  it 
at  night  in  the  marshalled  host  of  heaven,  where 
twinkles  a  star  which  science  names  Napoleon. 
I  think,  sire,  that  star  will  never  set ;  it  will  illu- 
minate the  path  of  your  grandson  better  than  the 
lamp  flickering  in  the  tombs  of  mouldering  an- 
cestors." 

Maria  Louisa  at  the  first  words  of  Napoleon 
withdrew  her  hands  from  the  pedigree,  and  stood 
half  sullen  and  ashamed  by  the  side  of  her  hus- 
band. The  royal  couple  of  Saxony  hastened  to 
roll  up  the  pedigree  as  quickly  as  possible,  and 
put  it  back  into  the  golden  box. 

Napoleon  offered  his  arm  to  his  consort 
"  Come,  madame,"  he  said,  "  let  us  go  to  the  ball- 
room." While  he  was  walking  away  with  her, 
the  Emperor  Francis  turned  to  Ludovica,  and, 
tapping  his  forehead,  whispered  cautiously,  "  I 
was  right !  There  is  something  wrong  in  Napo- 
leon's head." 


CHAPTER   VI. 
NAPOLEON'S  DEPARTURE  FROM  DRESDEN. 

THE  brilliant  court  ball  ended,  and  Napoleon 
retircil  to  his  cabinet.  He  seemed  more  care- 
worn than  he  had  ever  allowed  any  of  his  attend- 
ants to  notice.  He  was  slowly  walking  his  room, 
casting  an  occasional  glance  on  the  map  marked 


38 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


with  the  positions  of  the  various  corps  now  near 
the  frontiers  of  Russia.  "  Narbonne  has  not  yet 
arrived,"  he  muttered  to  himself.  "Alexander 
seems  really  to  hesitate  whether  to  make  peace 
or  not.  My  four  hundred  thousand  men,  who 
have  reached  the  Niemen,  will  frighten  him,  and 
he  will  submit  as  all  the  others.  He  will  not  dare 
to  bid  me  defiance !  He  will  yield !  He—"  Sud- 
denly Napoleon  paused  and  stepped  hastily  to  the 
window  on  which  he  had  happened  to  fix  his  eyes. 
A  ttrange  spectacle  presented  itself.  The  large 
square  directly  in  front  of  his  windows,  which  on 
the  day  of  his  arrival  had  been  so  splendidly  lit 
up,  was  dark  and  silent ;  but,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  the  Neustadt  was  now  in  a  flood  of 
light,  and  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  be  heard 
cheers.  He  opened  the  window,  and,  leaning  out, 
saw  the  houses  illuminated— even  the  residences 
of  the  neighboring  Palace  Street.  These  houses, 
like  those  in  the  other  parts  of  the  city,  had 
given  previously  no  token  of  joy,  and  remained  in 
darkness.  The  emperor  shut  the  window  angrily 
and  rang  the  bell.  "  Tell  the  grand  marshal  I 
wish  t»  see  him,"  he  said  to  the  footman. 

A  few  minutes  afterward  Duroc  entered.  "  Du- 
roc,"  exclaimed  the  emperor,  in  an  angry  voice, 
and  pointing  his  arm  at  the  window,  "  what  is 
the  meaning  of  that  illumination?  In  whose 
honor  is  it  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  Duroc,  slowly,  "  I  suppose  it  is  in 
honor  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  who  arrived  to- 
day." 

The  emperor  stamped  on  the  floor,  and  his 
eyes  flashed.  "  The  inhabitants  of  Dresden  are 
rebels,  and  ought  to  be  brought  to  their  senses 
by  bomb-shells  ! "  he  shouted,  in  a  thundering 
voice.  "  What  does  the  King  of  Prussia  concern 
them  ?  And  why  do  they  show  him  this  honor  ?  " 

"Sire;"  said  Duroc,  smiling,  "  the  people,  as 
the  King  of  Prussia  said  to-day,  know  but  little 
of  etiquette,  and  are  not  so  wise  as  courtiers." 

"  *  People ! '  "  growled  Napoleon.  "  There  are 
no  'people;'  there  are  only  subjects,  and  they 
ought  to  be  punished  with  fire  and  sword  if  they 
think  of  playing  the  part  of  '  the  people.'  Did  I 
not  issue  orders  to-day  to  the  effect  that  all  dem- 


onstrations   should   be   prohibited?      Why 
my  orders  disobeyed  ?  " 

"  Sire,  they  were  obeyed  so  far  as  it  was  in  our 
power.  The  police  managed  to  prevent  the  popu- 
lace from  gathering  and  shouting  in  the  street, 
but  they  are  unable  forcibly  to  enter  the  houses, 
because  the  inmates,  without  making  any  further 
demonstration,  placed  a  few  lights  at  their  win- 
dows. Our  agents,  nevertheless,  went  to  the  pro- 
prietors of  some  of  the  houses,  and  asked  for  the 
reason  of  this  sudden  and  unexpected  demonstra- 
tion. They  replied  that  it  was  in  honor  of  the 
Emperor  Napoleon,  the  guest  of  their  king." 

"The  villains!  They  dare  to  falsify!"  ex- 
claimed Napoleon.  "  The  facts  are  against  them. 
On  the  day  when  they  were  to  illuminate  in  honor 
of  my  arrival,  all  the  houses  were  gloomy  as  the 
grave,  on  account  of  hostility  to  me.  The  same 
feeling  is  the  reason  of  to-day's  illumination.  It 
seems,  then,  that  the  king  of  Prussia  is  exceed- 
ingly popular  in  Saxony  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sire.  The  king,  as  I  positively  know, 
had  instructed  the  inhabitants  of  the  Prussian 
places  through  which  he  had  to  pass  on  his  jour- 
ney to  Dresden,  not  to  receive  him  in  any  formal 
manner  whatever ;  but,  of  course,  he  was  unable 
to  issue  such  orders  in  regard  to  the  cities  and 
villages  of  Saxony.  Well,  so  soon  as  he  crossed 
the  Saxon  frontier,  he  was  everywhere  received 
in  the  most  ardent  manner.  All  the  bells  were 
rung  in  the  towns  of  Juterbogk  and  Grossenhayn 
on  his  arrival,  and  the  whole  population,  headed 
by  the  municipal  authorities,  and  all  the  other 
functionaries,  came  to  meet  him  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  towns,  and  cheered  him  in  the  most  jubi- 
lant manner." 

"And  how  did  he  receive  these  honors  ?  " 

"  He  thanked  the  citizens,  in  plain  and  simple 
words,  for  the  disinterested  respect  they  were 
good  enough  to  pay  to  a  German  prince." 

"  A  German  prince  ?  "  repeated  Napoleon,  ve- 
hemently ;  "  ah,  this  little  King  of  Prussia  still 
braves  me !  I  was  too  generous  at  Tilsit !  1 
must  cut  his  wings  still  shorter !  I  will  show 
him  what  the  French  emperor  can  do  with  a  Ger- 
man prince,  when  he  dares  to  bid  me  defiance !  " 


NAPOLEON'S  DEPARTURE  FROM  DRESDEN. 


39 


"  Sire,"  said  Duro«,  in  a  suppliant  voice,  "  I 
beseech  your  majesty  not  to  go  too  far !  The 
King  of  l'ru-ia  is  backed  by  the  sympathies  of 
the  whole  German  nation.  His  misfortunes  cause 
the  people  to  look  on  him  as  a  martyr.  They 
also  believe  that  he. participates  but  reluctantly 
in  this  Russian  war,  and  this  increases  the  love 
with  which  they  regard  him,  for  I  venture  to  say 
to  your  majesty  that  this  nation  is  opposed  to  the 
war." 

"  I  have  not  appointed  the  German  nation  ray 
secretary  of  war,"  exclaimed  Napoleon,  "  and  I 
have  not  asked  my  grand  marshal  to  give  me  his 
advice.  Carry  out  my  orders,  and  do  your  duty. 
Tell  Berthier  to  come  to  me ! " 

Duroc  hung  his  head  mournfully,  and  turned 
toward  the  door.  The  flaming  eyes  of  Napoleon 
followed  him.  Just  as  the  .jrand  marshal  opened 
the  door,  he  heard  the  emperor  calling  him. 
"  Sire  ?  n  he  asked,  turning,  and  standing  at  the 
door.  There  was  now  beaming  so  much  love 
and  mildness  in  the  emperor's  face,  that  Duroc 
was  unable  to  resist,  and,  as  if  attracted  by  a 
magnetic  power,  returned. 

"  Duroc,  my  old  friend,"  said  Napoleon,  offer- 
ing him  his  hand,  "I  thank  you  for  your  good 
advice,  for,  though  I  did  not  ask  it,  it  was  well 
meant.  I  know  full  well  that  the  so-called  Ger- 
man people,  as  well  as  their  princes,  however 
they  may  cajole  me,  are  opposed  to  this  war. 
Oh,  I  know  those  treacherous  princes!  I  know 
that  those  who  flatter  me  to-day  in  the  most  ab- 
ject manner,  are  only  watching  for  an  opportunity 
to  avenge  themselves  for  their  sycophancy ;  but 
I  have  chained  them  to  me  with  iron  bands,  and 
extracted  their  teeth,  so  thit  they  are  unable  to 
bite — their  teeth,  that  is  to  say,  their  soldiers, 
horn  I  am  taking  with  me  into  this  last  and  de- 
war.  For  I  tt-11  you,  Duroc,  it  will  be  our 

t  campaign.  On  the  ruins  of  Moscow  I  w411 
pel  Alexander  to  submit,  and  then  peace  will 
be  restored  to  Europe  for  years  to  come.  And 
who  knows,  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  go  so  far? 
Perhaps  it  may  be  sufficient  for  me  to  inarch  my 
army  as  far  as  the  Niemen,  to  awaken  Alexander 
from  his  reveries,  and  bring  him  to  his  senses." 


"  Alas,  sire ! "  said  Duroc,  sighing,  "  Alexandei 
has  loved  your  majesty  too  tenderly  not  to  feel 
irritated  in  the  highest  degree." 

"Is it  I,  then,  who  broke  this  friendship?"  ex- 
claimed Napoleon,  vehemently.  "  Is  it  I  who 
brought  about  this  war  ?  Have  I  not  rather  re- 
sorted to  all  means  in  order  to  avoid  it  ?  Have  I 
not  twice  sent  Lauriston  to  Alexander,  and  offered 
him  peace  in  case  he  should  fulfil  my  conditions  : 
to  shut  his  ports  against  British  ships,  to  lay  an 
embargo  upon  British  goods,  and  give  up  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  England  ?  But,  em- 
boldened by  his  victories  over  the  Turks,  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  takes  the  liberty  of  dictating 
conditions  to  me !  He  asks  me  to  give  him  an  in- 
demnity for  confiscating  the  states  of  his  brother 
in-law,  the  Prince  of  Oldenburg ;  he  demands  that 
I  should  not  engage  to  reestablish  the  kingdom 
of  Poland !  He  wants  to  impose  on  me  the  terms 
by  which  peace  is  to  be  maintained !  Conditions ! 
I  am  the  man  to  make  them,  but  not  to  accept 
any !  That  would  be  a  humiliation  I  could  not 
submit  to !  You  see,  therefore,  Duroc,  I  have 
been  compelled  to  euter  upon  this  war ;  I  did  not 
seek  it,  but  I  cannot  avoid  it.  You  see  the  jus- 
tice of  it,  do  you  not  ?  You  know  that  I  desired; 
and  am  still  desiring  peace,  and  that  it  is  with  a 
heavy  heart  I  shed  the  blood  of  my  brave  sol 
diers." 

"Sire,"  said  Duroc,  with  a  faint  smile,  "I  see 
at  le«st  that  it  is  too  late  now  to  speak  of  peace, 
inasmuch  as  an  army  of  four  hundred  thousand 
men  is  waiting  on  the  Niemen  for  the  arrival  of 
your  majesty." 

"  Let  Alexander  speak  ;  let  him  accept  my 
terms,  and  it  will  not  be  too  late,"  exclaimed  Na- 
poleon. "  I  am  looking  for  Narbonne,  who  may 
arrive  at  any  moment.  He  will  bring  us  either 
peace  or  war.  for  he  will  have  Alexanders  6nal 
reply.  As  soon  as  he  arrives  he  must  be  admitted, 
no  matter  whether  I  am  asleep  or  awake.  Go, 
no\v,  Duroc !  Tell  Berthier  to  come  to  me !  " 

AV  hon  Berthier  entered,  the  emperor  was  stand 
ing  at  the  window,  and  looking  over  to  the  Neu- 
stadt,  which  was  still  in  a  blaze  of  light  The 
marshal  remained  respectfully  at  the  door,  wait 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


ing  to  be  addressed.  A  long  pause  ensued.  Sud- 
denly Napoleon  turned  his  pale  countenance  to 
Berthier,  and  exclaimed  :  "  Berthier,  you  will  set 
out  immediately.  Go  to  Berlin,  and  convey  my 
order  to  the  Duke  de  Belluno.  Tell  him  that  I 
recommend  the  utmost  vigilance,  and  that  it  is 
his  task  to  maintain  order  in  Prussia.  The  popu- 
lation of  that  country  are  very  seditious.  They 
are  constantly  ready  to  conspire  and  rise  in  rebel- 
lion, and  who  knows  whether  Frederick  William 
will  not  make  common  cause  with  the  insur- 
gents ?  This  ought  to  be  prevented  by  all  means ; 
war  is  at  hand;  hence  we  must  redouble  our 
firmness  and  vigilance,  that  no  revolution  may 
annoy  us  in  our  rear.  You  will  repeat  all  this  to 
the  duke,  and  take  him  my  instructions." 

"  Sire,"  said  Berthier,  "  if  your  majesty  has  no 
further  orders,  I  shall  set  out  immediately." 

u  You  will  tell  the  Duke  de  Belluno  that  it  is 
my  will  that  no  Prussian  general  or  officer  shall 
command  at  Berlin,  and  that  the  French  general 
aloae  must  give  all  necessary  orders.  Sit  down  ; 
I  will  dictate  to  you  the  other  instructions." 

Berthier  took  a  seat  at  the  desk,  and  waited, 
pen  in  hand,  for  the  emperor's  words.  Casting 
again  a  glance  on  the  city  honoring  the  King  of 
Prussia,  he  dictated :  "  Special  care  is  to  be  taken 
that  neither  at  Berlin  nor  in  its  vicinity  shall  there 
be  a  depot  of  small-arms  or  cannon,  which  the 
populace  might  take  possession  of.  No  Prussian 
troops  whatever  shall  be  left  at  Berlin,  and  what 
few  regular  soldiers  remain  at  the  capital  shall 
exclusively  perform  the  military  service  at  the 
palace.  The  French  troops  at  Berlin  shall  not  be 
lodged  with  the  citizens,  but  take  up  their  quar- 
ters at  the  barracks,  and,  if  these  should  be  in- 
sufficient for  their  accommodation,  encamp  in  the 
open  field.  You  will  constantly  keep  some  field- 
pieces  ready  for  immediate  use,  in  order  to  sup- 
press any  seditious  movements  that  might  take 
place.  Every  insult  heaped  upon  a  Frenchman 
will  be  punished  by  a  court  martial  according  to 
the  laws  of  war.  -Besides,  it  is  necessary  that 
the  governor-general  of  Berlin  should  organize  a 
necret  police,  that  he  may  know  what  is  going  on, 
and  have  a  vigilant  eye  on  all  dangerous  attempts 


at  disturbing  the  public  peace.  You  will  inform 
the  Duke  de  Belluno  that  the  administration  of  the 
country  will  be  entirely  left  to  the  king's  minis- 
ters, but  that  the  surveillance  of  the  newspapers, 
as  well  as  all  other  publications,  and  the  whole 
organization  of  the  police,  must  be  in  the  duke's 
hands,  that  nothing  may  give  a  dangerous  im- 
pulse to  the  people,  and  that  they  may  have  no 
opportunities  of  entering  into  a  rebellion.  Prus- 
sia must  be  kept  down  by  all  means  at  our  com- 
mand. You  will  tell  the  Duke  de  Belluno  that  I 
have  given  orders  that  three  or  four  well-informed 
French  officers  should  stay  at  Colberg  and  Grau- 
denzv  The  right  of  having  a  Prussian  garrison 
was  reserved  only  to  Colberg,  and  Potsdam  is  the 
only  cily  through  which  the  French  troops  are  not 
allowed  to  pass  ;  but  the  inhabitants  of  Potsdam 
should  be  accustomed  to  see  many  French  officers 
in  their  midst.  The  latter  must  frequently  stop 
there  overnight  on  the  pretext  of  seeing  the  city, 
and,  if  their  own  curiosity  should  not  impel  them 
to  do  so,  their  commander  should  induce  them  to 
pursue  the  course  I  have  indicated.  The  duke 
shall,  under  all  circumstances,  show  the  greatest 
deference  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  even  to 
affectation  at  festivals  and  on  all  public  occasions. 
He  shall,  besides,  frequently  invite  to  his  table  the 
Prussian  ministers,  and  what  few  Prussian  officers 
will  be  left  at  Berlin,  and  always  treat  them  in  the 
most  polite  and  obliging  manner.  But  at  all 
hours  a  vigilant  eye  must  be  bad  on  the  king  as 
well  as  on  the  authorities  and  the  people,  and  the 
duke  ought  always  to  be  ready  to  put  down  the 
slightest  demonstration  or  disorder.  I  have  done," 
said  Napoleon.  "  Go,  Berthier,  and  comply  care- 
fully with  my  instructions.  No  confidence  can  be 
reposed  in  Frederick  William  or  in  his  people.  We 
have  subjugated  Prussia,  but  it  may  perhaps  be 
necessary  to  crush  her.  At  the  slightest  provo- 
cation this  must  be  done ;  if  she  will  not  be  an 
honest  ally,  I  will  prove  to  her  that  I  am  an 
honest  enemy,  and,  to  give  her  this  proof,  put  an 
end  to  her  existence.  Go,  Berthier ;  set  out  im- 
mediately." 

Berthier  withdrew,  while  Napoleon  returned  to 
the  window  with  a  triumphant  air.     "Ah,  my 


NAPOLEON'S  DEPARTURE  FROM   DRESDEN. 


little  King  of  Prussia,"  he  said,  scornfully,  "  they 
kindle  lights  here  under  my  eyes  in  honor  of  your 
petty  majesty,  but  my  breath  can  extinguish  them 
and  leave  you  in  a  profound  darkness.  Another 
such  provocation,  and  your  throne  breaks  down. 
Another — " 

The  door  of  the  antechamber  was  hastily 
opened,  and  Roustan  appeared.  "  Sire,"  he  said, 
"  his  excellency  Count  de  Narbonne  requests  an 
audience." 

"  Xarbonue  ! "  ejaculated  Napoleon,  joyously. 
"  Come  in,  Narbonne,  come  in  ! "  And  he  has- 
tened to  meet  the  count,  who  entered  the  cabinet, 
and,  as  an  experienced  cavalier  of  the  court  of 
Louis  XVI.,  made  his  bows  in  strict  accordance 
with  etiquette. 

"  Omit  these  unnecessary  ceremonies,"  said 
Napoleon,  quivering  with  impatience  and  anxiety. 
"  I  have  been  looking  for  you  a  long  time.  What 
results  do  you  bring  me  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  the  count,  with  his  imperturbable, 
diplomatic  smile,  "  I  am  afraid  the  result  of  my 
mission  will  be  war." 

"What!"  exclaimed  Napoleon,  eagerly,  and, 
for  a  moment,  a  faint  blush  tinged  his  cheeks. 
"  What !  The  Emperor  Alexander  will  not  yield  ? 
He  refuses  to  comply  with  my  conditions  ?  " 

>our  majesty  will  permit  me  to  repeat  to 
the  emperor's  own  words,"  said  the  count, 
with  composure.  "  When  I  had  laid  your  propo- 
sitions before  his  majesty,  and  told  him  that  if 
the  czar  should  shul  his  ports  against  British  ships, 
continue  the  war  with  England,  lay  an  embargo 
on  all  British  goods,  and  give  up  all  direct  and 
indirect  commercial  intercourse  with  England, 
your  majesty  then  would  make  peace  with  Rus- 
sia, the  Emperor  Alexander  exclaimed  vehement- 
ly, 'Such  a  peace  I  would  accept  only  after 
hiving  been  forced  into  the  interior  of  Sibe- 
ria!'"* 

"  Ah,"  exclaimed  Napoleon,  "  I  will  give  him 
the  pleasure  of  that  journey.  He  will  become 
a^xjuaintoil  with  Siberia,  and  there  I  mean  to  dic- 
tcite  terms  of  peace,  unless  I  prefer  to  leave  him 

*  Alexander's  own  words.— Vide  w  M6moires  d'nn 
Oommo  d'£tat,"  vuL  xiil.,  p.  875. 


n  e  i 


there  forever.  Did  you  bring  any  other  dis 
patches  ? " 

"  I  did,  sire.  Here  is  the  official  reply  of  Min- 
ister Count  Romanzoff  to  the  letter  of  the  Duke 
de  Bassano,  of  which  I  was  the  bearer.  It  ia 
nothing  but  a  repetition  of  the  phrases  which  the 
Russian  ambassador  at  Paris  made  to  us  up  to 
the  day  of  his  departure.  Here  is  Romanzoff's 
letter.  Will  your  majesty  be  so  gracious  as  to 
read  it  ?  " 

Napoleon  took  the  paper  and  glanced  over  it. 
"  You  are  right,"  he  said,  flinging  the  paper  con- 
temptuously on  the  table.  "  Nothing  but  the 
same  phrase  :  '  Alexander  wants  peace,  but  i3  un- 
able to  fulfil  my  conditions.'  Well,  then,  he  shall 
have  war  !  The  first  shot  discharged  at  my  sol- 
diers will  be  answered  by  a  thousand  cannon,  and 
they  will  announce  to  the  world  that  Napoleon  is 
expelling  the  barbarians  from  Europe." 

"  Sire,"  said  Narbonne,  smiling,  "  if  your  ma- 
jesty intends  to  wait  until  the  Russians  fire  the 
first  gun,  there  will  be  no  war,  and  may  it  be  so ! 
The  Emperor  Alexander  has  made  up  his  mind 
not  to  take  the  initiative.  Only  when  the  armies 
of  your  majesty  have  crossed  the  frontier  of  Rus- 
sia, when  you  have  forcibly  entered  his  states, 
will  Alexander  look  upon  the  war  as  begun,  but 
he  will  not  carry  it  beyond  the  boundaries  of  his 
country:  he  will  not  meet  the  enemy,  whom  he 
would  still  like  so  much  to  call  his  friend,  outside 
the  frontiers  of  his  empire." 

"  Ah,  I  knew  well  that  Alexander  is  hesitating," 
exclaimed  Napoleon,  triumphantly.  "  He  darea 
not  attack  me,  and  his  vacillation  will  give  ine 
time  to  complete  ray  preparations,  and  surround 
him  so  closely  that  he  cannot  escape.  While  he 
is  still  dreaming  at  the  Kremlin  of  the  possibility 
of  peace,  I  shall  be  at  the  gates,  and  ask  him  hi 
the  thunder  of  my  cannon  whether  he  will  sub- 
mit, or  bury  himself  beneath  th«  ruins  of  his 
throne." 

"He  will  choose  the  latter,"  exclaimed  Nar- 
bonne, quickly. 

"  He  will  not ! "  said  Napoleon,  proudly.  "  He 
will  submit !  A  terrible  blow  struck  in  the  heart 
of  the  empire,  Moscow — holy  Moscow — delivers 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


Russia  into  my  bands.  I  know  Alexander;  I 
exerted  formerly  great  influence  over  him.  I 
must  dazzle  his  imagination  by  boldness  and  en- 
ergy, and  he  will  return  to  my  friendship." 

"  Heaven  grant  that  it  may  be  so !  "  said  Nar- 
bonne,  sighing. 

"  It  is  so ! "  said  Napoleon,  confidently,  walk- 
ing with  rapid  steps  and  proud  head ;  "  yes,  it  is 
so !  Fate  has  intrusted  me  with  the  mission  of 
ridding  Europe  of  the  barbarians.  The  logic  of 
events  necessitates  this  war,  and  even  family  ties, 
such  as  we  proposed  to  form  at  our  interview 
at  Erfurt,  would  not  have  prevented  it.  The 
barbarism  of  Russia  is  threatening  the  whole  of 
Europe.  Think  of  Suwarrow  and  his  Tartars  in 
Italy !  Our  reply  ought  to  be,  to  hurl  them  back 
beyond  Moscow ;  and  when  would  Europe  be  able 
to  do  so,  unless  now  and  through  me."  * 

"But,  sire,  Europe,  in  the  madness  of  her 
hatred,  would  prefer  to  make  common  cause  with 
Russia,  Suppose  she  should  offer  her  hand  to 
the  Tartars  and  Cossacks,  to  deliver  herself  from 
the  yoke  which  the  glory  and  greatness  of  Napo- 
leon have  imposed  upon  her  neck  ?  Sire,  at  this 
decisive  hour  you  must  permit  me  to  tell  you  the 
truth :  I  am  afraid  the  hatred,  the  cunning  malice 
and  rage  of  your  enemies,  will  this  time  be  stronger 
than  the  military  skill  of  your  majesty,  and  the 
bravery  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands  who  have 
followed  you  with  such  enthusiasm.  Your  ma- 
jesty says  that  Alexander  is  hesitating,  and  that 
may,  perhaps,  be  true;  but  his  people  are  the 
more  resolute,  and  so  is  the  emperor's  suite.  They 
are  bent  on  having  war,  and  with  the  whole 
strength  of  mortal  hatred  and  patriotic  fanaticism. 
The  people,  instigated  by  their  venomous  and  im- 
passioned priests,  regard  this  as  a  holy  war,  com- 
manded by  God  Himself.  Their  priests  have  told 
them  that  the  Emperor  of  the  French  is  coming 
with  his  armies  to  devastate  Russia,  to  destroy 
the  altars  and  images  of  the  saints,  and  to  de- 
throne the  czar,  in  order  to  place  himself  on  the 
throne.  The  Russian  people,  who,  in  their  child- 
like innocence,  believe  to  be  true  whatever  their 


*  Napoleon's  own  words.— Vide  "  Souvenirs  du  Comte 
Vlllemain,"  voL  L,  p.  168. 


priests  tell  them,  feel  themselves  profoundly 
wounded  in  their  three  most  sacred  sympathies  : 
love  for  the  fatherland,  the  church,  and  the  czar, 
and  they  are  rising  to  a  man  to  save  them.  Sire, 
this  war  which  your  majesty  is  about  to  com- 
mence is  no  ordinary  war:  the  enemy  will  not 
oppose  you  in  the  open  field  ;  like  the  Parthian, 
he  will  seemingly  flee  from  his  pursuer ;  he  will 
decoy  you  forward,  but  in  the  thicket  or  ravine 
he  will  conceal  himself,  and  when  you  pass  by 
will  have  you  at  an  advantage.  He  will  never 
allow  you  to  fight  him  in  a  pitched  battle,  but 
every  village  and  cottage  will  be  an  obstacle,  a 
rampart  obstructing  your  route.  Every  peasant 
will  regard  himself  a  soldier,  and  believe  it  his 
bounden  duty  to  fight,  however  sure  he  may  be 
to  die.  Sire,  the  terrible  scenes  in  Spain  may  be 
renewed  in  Russia,  for  all  Russia  will  be  a  vast 
Saragossa ;  women,  children,  and  old  men,  will 
participate  in  this  struggle ;  they  will  die  eating 
poisoned  bread  with  the  enemy,  rather  than  give 
him  wholesome  food." 

"  You  are  exaggerating !  "  exclaimed  Napo- 
leon, sneeringly.  "  In  truth,  it  is  mere  imagina- 
tion to  compare  the  Russian  serf — the  blood  in 
whose  veins  is  frozen  by  Siberian  cold,  and  whose 
back  is  cut  up  and  bowed  by  the  knout — with 
the  Spaniard,  passionate  and  free  beneath  a  torrid 
sun,  and  who  in  his  rags  still  feels  himself  noble 
and  a  grandee.  But  these  exaggerations  shall  not 
influence  me  !  The  die  is  cast :  I  cannot  recede ! 
Great  Heaven !  this  tedious  old  Europe !  I  will 
bring  from  Russia  the  keys  to  unlock  a  new  world. 
Or  do  you  believe,  you  short-sighted  little  men, 
that  I  have  undertaken,  merely  for  the  sake  of 
Russia,  this  greatest  expedition  that  military  his- 
tory will  ever  engrave  upon  its  tablets?  No; 
Moscow  is  to  me  but  the  gate  of  Asia !  My  route 
to  India  passes  that  way.  Alexander  the  Great 
had  as  long  a  route  to  the  Ganges  as  I  shall  have 
from  Moscow,  and  yet  he  reached  his  destination. 
Should  I  shrink  from  what  he  succeeded  in  ac- 
complishing ?  Since  the  days  of  St.  Jean  d'Acrc 
I  have  thought  of  this  scheme ;  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  discontinuance  of  the  siege  and  the  plague, 
I  should  at  that  time  have  conquered  one-half 


NAPOLEON'S  DEPARTURE  FROM   DRESDEN. 


43 


of  Asia,  and  have  thence  returned  to  Europe  for 
the  thrones  of  Germany  and  Italy.  Do  not  look  at 
me  so  wonderingly,  Narbonne.  I  tell  you  nothing 
but  ray  real  schemes.  They  shall  be  carried  into 
effect,  and  then  you  and  the  world  will  have  to 
acknowledge  that  my  words  are  oracles,  my  ac- 
tions miracles,  and  every  day  a  new  one !  *  In 
the  morning  I  set  out  early  and  repair  to  the 
headquarters  of  my  army.  Do  not  say  a  word, 
Narbonne !  I  leave  Dresden  early  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  fate  of  Russia  is  decided !  Go ! "  He 
waved  his  hand  toward  the  door,  and  turned  his 
back  to  Narbonne. 

*  Napoleon's  own  words.— Vide  Villcmain,  "  Souve- 
nirs," voL  L,  p.  180. 


The  count  left  the  imperial  cabinet  with  a  sigh. 
In  the  corridor  outside  he  met  Berthier  and  Du- 
roc,  who  peemed  to  await  him.  "Well,"  both 
of  them  asked  eagerly,  "  were  your  represen- 
tations successful?  Will  the  emperor,  at  the 
eleventh  hour,  make  peace  ?  " 

Narbonne  shook  his  head  sadly.  "  It  was  all 
in  vain,"  he  replied.  "  He  wishes  war,  and  you 
do  not  even  dream  how  far  he  means  to  carry  it. 
When  listening  to  him,  one  believes  him  to  be 
either  a  demigod,  to  whom  temples  should  be 
built,  or  a  lunatic,  who  should  be  sent  to  Bed 
lam ! "  * 

*  Connt  Louis  do  Narbonne's  own  wo  Ms.— Vl«le  U3o»- 
venirs,"  voL  1. 


THE   LAST   DAYS    OF   1812. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   CONSPIRATORS    OF   HELGOLAND. 

THE  storm  was  howling  over  the  ocean,  reveal- 
iDg  its  depths,  and  hurling  its  foaming  waves  to 
the  sky.  They  dashed  wildly  against  yonder  lofty 
rock  that  calmly  overlooked  the  anger  of  the 
tempest.  It  was  the  rock  of  Helgoland.  In 
times  of  old,  it  towered  even  more  proudly  above 
fie  unruly  element  surrounding  it.  It  was  then 
a  terror  to  seafaring  nations,  and  when  the  ships 
of  the  rich  merchants  of  Hamburg,  Bremen,  Hol- 
land, and  Denmark,  passed  it  at  as  great  a  dis- 
tance as  possible,  the  masters  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross,  and  prayed  God  would  deliver  them 
from  this  imminent  danger.  In  ancient  days 
Helgoland  was  ten  times  larger  than  it  is  now, 
and  on  this  old  rocky  island,  which  had  been 
the  last  asylum  of  the  gods  of  northern  pagan- 
ism, lived  a  warlike  people,  who  knew  no  other 
laws  than  those  of  their  own  will,  no  other  toil 
than  piracy,  and  who  submitted  to  no  other  mas- 
ter than  the  chieftain  chosen  from  among  their 
most  colossal  fellows.  The  pirates  of  Helgoland 
were  desperate  men,  who  had  selected  for  them- 
selves as  a  coat  of  arms  a  wheel  and  a  gallows, 
which  they  wore  embroidered  on  the  sleeves  of 
their  jackets ;  and  their  last  chieftain,  who  espe- 
cially terrified  the  hearts  of  sea-captains  pass- 
ing the  island,  called  himself:  "I,  by  my  own 
grace,  and  not  that  of  God,  Long  Peter,  Murderer 
of  the  Dutch,  Destroyer  of  the  Hamburgers, 
Chastiser  of  the  Danes,  and  Scourge  of  the 


Bremen  Ships."  But  Long  Peter,  "  by  his  o< 
grace,  and  not  that  of  God,"  had  at  length  fallen  a 
victim  to  the  vicissitudes  of  life.  The  women  of 
Helgoland,  revolting  against  his  cruelty,  baseness, 
and  tyranny,  surrendered  the  island,  the  seat  of 
the  ancient  gods,  to  Admiral  Paulsen,  of  the 
Danish  navy.  This  occurred  in  1684,  and  since 
then  Helgoland  remained  under  the  authority  of 
the  Danish  crown  until  1807.  The  conflagration 
of  Copenhagen  melted  the  chains  that  fastened 
the  old  gray  rock  to  Denmark,  and  England, 
that  triumphantly  conveyed  the  whole  Danish 
fleet  to  her  own  shores,  annexed  Helgoland. 

The  island  had  become  much  smaller  ever  since 
Long  Peter,  its  last  chieftain,  died.  The  storms 
had  swept  over  it,  tearing  rocky  masses  from  its 
shores,  and  flinging  them  far  into  the  sea,  which 
had  undermined  the  foundations  of  Helgoland, 
and  hidden  the  conquest  beneath  the  waves. 
Although  small,  it  was  the  beacon  of  Europe. 
In  the  last  days  of  1812  the  eyes  of  all  German 
patriots  were  fixed  longingly  and  hopefully  upon 
that  lonely  rock  in  the  North  Sea.  It  was  Brit- 
ish territory — the  first  advance  which  England 
had  made  to  the  shores  of  suffering  Germany, 
and,  her  proud  flag  waving  over  it,  made  it  the 
asylum  of  persecuted  patriots  and  members  of 
the  secret  leagues.  To  the  red  rock,  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea,  came  no  French  spies  ;  there  were  no 
traitors'  ears,  for  the  pilot  at  the  light-house  kept 
a  good  lookout,  and  no  suspicious  ship  was  per- 
mitted to  anchor;  no  one  was  allowed  to  land 
without  having  given  a  good  account  of  himself, 


THE   CONSPIRATORS  OF  HELGOLAND. 


45 


and  satisfying  the  authorities  that  confidence 
might  be  reposed  in  him.  Those  allowed  to  dis- 
embark were  heartily  welcomed,  for,  by  setting 
foot  on  the  rocky  island,  they  had  beccme  mem- 
bers of  the  vast  family  of  Napoleon's  enemies — 
of  the  brethren  who  had  united  against  his  power 
— of  the  conspirators  whose  sworn  duty  it  was  to 
oppose  Napoleon  with  the  weapons  of  cunning  as 
well  as  force— of  intrigue  creeping  in  the  dark, 
or  of  brave  and  manly  defiance. 

In  Helgoland  the  swarms  of  smugglers  shel- 
tered, who  had  taken  upon  themselves  the  risk 
of  trading  English  goods,  against  which  Napo- 
leon's hatred  tried  to  shut  the  entire  continent. 
There  came  the  crowd  of  foreign  merchants,  to 
purchase  of  English  dealers  the  goods  which  Na- 
poleon's decrees  had  prohibited  in  his  own  do- 
jainions,  as  well  as  in  those  of  his  allies.  Every 
British  manufacturer  and  wholesale  dealer  had 
his  counting-house  and  depot  at  Helgoland.  Vast 
warehouses,  resembling  palaces,  rose  on  the  pla- 
teau of  the  island,  and  approaching  ships  beheld 
them  from  afar.  In  these  warehouses  were  stored 
all  the  articles  which  British  industry  was  able  to 
offer  to  the  rest  of  Europe,  and  which  the  people 
of  the  whole  continent  desired  the  more  ardently, 
the  more  rigorously  they  were  forbidden  to  pur- 
chase them.  Every  large  commercial  firm  of 
London  and  Manchester  had  branches  of  their 
business  on  the  island ;  every  wealthy  banker 
had  an  office  there,  and  people  were  justified  in 
calling  Helgoland  "  Little  London."  You  would 
have  thought  yourself  in  the  city  of  London, 
when  passing  through  the  narrow  streets  of  the 
island,  lined  on  both  sides  with  vast  warehouses, 
and  reading  on  each  the  names  of  the  most  cele- 
brated London  firms.  You  would  almost  have 
fancied  you  were  in  the  gigantic  harbor  of  the 
Thames,  when  looking  at  the  forest  of  masts,  the 
animated  crowds,  the  ships  and  boats,  where  from 
three  to  four  hundred  vessels  cleared  and  entered 
CVCTV  day. 

Not  only  merchants  and  smugglers,  adventurers 
and  speculators,  flocked  to  Helgoland,  but  diplo- 
matists, politicians,  and  patriots  found  on  the 
rocky  island  a  refuge  and  convenient  point,  where 


they  might  meet  their  brethren  and  reunite  kin- 
dred hearts.  The  members  of  the  great  secret 
league  hastened  from  the  north  and  the  south  of 
Europe  to  Helgoland,  to  hold  meetings  there, 
concert  plans,  and  communicate  to  each  other 
what  they  had  succeeded  in  accomplishing. 

On  one  of  the  last  days  in  September,  1812,  an 
unusual  commotion  prevailed  on  the  island.  It 
was  noon,  and  yet  more  than  two  hundred  ships 
had  arrived  and  cast  anchor.  All  the  stores  were 
open  and  the  goods  displayed  ;  brokers  and  spec- 
ulators elbowed  themselves  in  busy  haste  through 
the  multitude  of  merchants,  owners  of  ships, 
smugglers,  and  sailors,  that  filled  the  whole  upper 
part  of  the  island,  offering  goods  for  sale  in  all 
languages  ;  and  among  them  were  to  be  seen  the 
beautiful  girls  of  Helgoland,  dressed  in  their 
strange  costume,  and  carrying  in  baskets  and  on 
plates  all  sorts  of  delicacies,  for  which  they  sought 
purchasers. 

At  a  distance  from  the  throng  stood  three 
men,  who  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  merry, 
excited  crowd.  They  were  closely  wrapped  in 
cloaks,  with  their  hats  drawn  over  their  fore- 
heads, and  looked  steadfastly  upon  the  sea.  Par 
on  the  horizon  there  appeared  another  small 
dark  speck,  which  gradually  assumed  a  definite 
shape. 

"  A  ship ! "  ejaculated  one  of  the  three  men, 
eagerly. 

"  Yes,  a  ship,"  repeated  his  two  companions. 
They  paused,  looking  eagerly  at  the  vessel,  which 
rapidly  darted  across  the  waves,  and  could  now 
be  discerned  by  the  unaided  eye. 

"  Look,"  said  one  of  the  three,  "  she  is  a  man- 
of-war.  I  see  the  port-holes." 

"  But  I  do  not  see  her  flag,"  said  one  of  his 
companions. 

"  I  do,"  exclaimed  the  third,  who  had  hitherto 
looked  at  the  ship  through  a  large  telescope 
"  Yellow  and  blue,  the  Swedish  colors." 

-  At  length  !  "  exclaimed  the  first  speaker,  joy 
ously.  "  I  hope  it  is  he  ! " 

"  There  is  another  ship,"  said  the  second 
speaker,  pointing  his  hand  to  a  different  part  of  th« 
horizon.  "  How  she  is  dashing  along  ! — her  keel 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


cuts  the  waves,  so  that  their  foaming  crests  sweep 
like  a  silver  chain  behind  her  Oh,  I  like  that 
ship  !  it  seems  to  me  as  though  she  brings  us 
glad  tidings,  and  comes  for  our  sake,  and  not  for 
commercial  purposes." 

"Now  she  unfurls  her  flag!"  exclaimed  the 
third  speaker.  "  It  is  the  union  jack  !  Oh,  you 
are  right,  she  comes  for  our  sake,  and  I  hope 
some  friend  is  on  board.  But  we  are  forgetting 
the  Swedish  vessel.  Where  is  she  ?  " 

"  There  !  The  little  fish  has  become  a  whale, 
And  see,  the  English  ship,  too,  is  much  larger, 
and  is  dancing  along  like  a  beauty.  Both  are 
very  fast,  and  in  half  an  hour  they  will  be  at  an- 
chor in  the  harbor." 

"  Heaven  grant  that  the  friends  for  whom  we 
are  looking  may  be  on  board  ! "  said  his  two  com- 
panions, sighing. 

"  Your  wish  will  be  granted,"  said  their  friend. 
"  God  is  with  us  and  blesses  our  league.  Has  He 
not  already  for  twelve  days  bidden  the  sea  be 
calm,  and  not  detain  us  or  one  of  ours  by  adverse 
winds?  Have  we  not  all  arrived  to-day,  as  we 
had  agreed  to,  from  three  different  parts  of  the 
world  ?  Why  should  the  other  brethren  of  our 
league  not  be  able  to  do  the  same  ?  " 

"  Yes,  you  are  right,"  said  the  first  speaker, 
'smiling.  "  Heaven  does  seem  to  be  with  us,  and 
it  is  apparently  for  our  sake  that  this  rock  emerged 
from  the  waves  as  a  snug  little  boudoir  for  our 
European  rendezvous.  Bonaparte  may  often 
enough  cast  angry  glances  in  this  direction,  but 
the  lightning  of  his  eyes  and  the  thunder  of  his 
words  do  not  reach  our  sea-girt  asylum,  which 
God  Himself  has  built  and  furnished  for  us. 
Grim  Bonaparte  cannot  hurt  us  here,  but  we  will 
try  to  hurt  him,  and  one  day  he  will  find  out 
what  we  are  doing  at  the  political  boudoir  of 
Helgoland." 

"  Look,"  exclaimed  his  friend,  "  the  two  ships 
have  reached  the  island  at  the  same  time,  and  are 
now  anchoring." 

"  They  are  lowering  their  boats,"  exclaimed 
the  third  speaker.  "  The  passengers  are  going 
ashore." 

"  Let  us  go  to  the  place  agreed  upon,  and  see 


com- 
turned 


whether  they  are  the  brethren  we  are  looking 
for,"  said  the  first  speaker. 

"Yes,  let  us  go,"  exclaimed  his  two  com- 
panions. 

Without  exchanging  another  word,  they  ti 
and  walked  hastily  through  the  busy  crowds  to 
the  staircase  leading  from  the  upper  part  of  the 
island  to  the  lower  shore.  Here  they  passed 
through  the  streets  of  small,  neat  fishermen's 
huts,  and  then  entered  the  last  building.  A  foot- 
man in  a  gorgeous  livery  received  them  in  the 
small  hall,  and  opened  with  reverential  politeness 
the  door  leading  into  the  only  room  of  the  hut. 
The  three  men  walked  in,  and  locked  the  door 
carefully.  One  of  them  took  off  his  hat  and 
cloak,  and  now  stood  before  his  two  companions 
in  splendid  uniform,  his  breast  covered  with 
orders.  u  Permit  me,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  smil  - 
ing — "  permit  me  to  greet  you  here  as  guests  of 
mine,  for  you  are  now  at  my  house.  I  have 
bought  this  building  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
the  meetings  of  the  members  of  our  league.  Up 
to  this  time  we  have  recognized  each  other  as 
friends  only  by  the  signs  and  passwords  that  had 
been  agreed  on ;  but  now,  if  you  please,  we  will 
drop  our  incognito.  I  am  Count  Munster,  min- 
ister of  the  Elector  of  Hanover  and  the  King  of 
England." 

"And  I,"  said  the  second  gentleman,  taking 
off  his  cloak — "  I  have  the  honor  of  introducing 
myself  to  your  excellency  as  the  chief  of  the  Berlin 
police,  who  was  proscribed  and  exiled  by  Bona- 
parte. My  name  is  Justus  Gruner." 

"A  name  that  I  have  known  a  long  time, 
though  I  was  not  acquainted  with  the  man  him- 
self," said  Count  Munster,  kindly  offering  him 
his  hand.  "  Let  me  bid  you  welcome  as  a  faith- 
ful and  zealous  adherent  of  the  good  cause — as 
a  noble  patriot  in  whom  Germany  confides  and 
hopes." 

"  It  is  my  turn  now  to  unmask,"  said  the  third 
whose  countenance  had  hitherto  been  almost  en 
tirely  invisible,  so  closely  had  he  muffled  himself 
Taking  off  his  cloak  and  hat  and  bowing  to  life 
companions,  he  said,  "My  name  is  Frederick 
William  of  Brunswick." 


THE   CONSPIRATORS  OF  HELGOLAND. 


47 


"  I  had  the  honor  to  recognize  your  highness 
when  you  were  yet  in  the  boat,  and  I  stood  on 
the  shore/'  said  Count  Munster,  smiling  and  bow- 
ing respectfully. 

"  And  why  did  you  not  tell  me  so  ?  "  asked  the 
duke,  eagerly. 

"Because  I  respected  your  incognito,  your 
highness,"  said  the  count. 

The  duke  shook  his  head,  which  was  covered 
with  dark,  curly  hair.  "  No  etiquette,  count,"  he 
said,  almost  indignantly.  "  I  am  nothing  but  a 
poor  soldier,  who  scarcely  knows  where  to  lay  his 
head,  whom  grief  is  tormenting,  and  whose  hun- 
ger for  vengeance  is  not  appeased." 

"There  will  be  a  time  when  all  those  who  are 
hungry,  like  your  highness,  will  be  satisfied."  said 
Justus  Gruner,  solemnly. 

"  If  you  speak  the  truth,  my  friend,"  exclaimed 
the  duke,  with  emphasis,  "  the  eyes  of  my  blind 
father,  who  died  in  despair,  will  reopen,  and  he 
will  look  down  with  blissful  tears  upon  the  de- 
livered world.  And  they  will  blot  out  his  last 
dying  words,  that  are  burning  like  fire  in  my 
heart.  '  Oh,  what  a  disgrace  !  what  a  disgrace ! ' 
were  the  last  words  my  father  uttered.  I  hear 
them  night  and  day;  they  are  always  resounding 
in  my  ears  like  the  fleath-knell  of  Germany ;  they 
are  ever  smarting  in  my  heart  like  an  open 
wound.  Germany  is  groaning  and  lamenting,  for 
Napoleon's  foot  is  still  on  her  neck,  and,  mortally 
wounded  and  blinded  like  ray  father,  we  are  all 
•  Oh,  what  a  disgrace !  what  a  disgrace ! '  " 

"  But  the  time  will  soon  come  when  our  wounds 
will  heal,"  said  Count  Munster,  gravely.  "  Our 
night  is  passing,  the  morning  dawns,  and  the  star 
of  Bonaparte  will  fade  forever." 

"I  do  not  think  it,"  said  the  duke,  sighing. 
"  It  is  still  shining  over  our  heads — he  is  rather 
like  a  threatening  meteor,  and  its  eccentric  course 
fields  of  Russia.  But  hush  !  foot- 
steps are  appnm'hinir."  The  duke  was  not  mis- 
taken. They  heard  the  door  of  the  hut  violently 
open  and  clo-o,  an  1  shortly  after  someone  rapped 
at  the  locked  door. 

"The   password!"    shouted    Count    Munster, 

ittir.'.:  his  h.in  1  on  the  key. 


"  11  fst  tempt  de  fnir !  "  replied  a  sonorous 
voice  outside. 

Count  Munster  opened  the  door.  A  gentleman 
of  imposing  stature  entered  the  room.  "  Count 
Nugent,"  exclaimed  Count  Munster,  joyously,  of- 
fering both  his  hands  to  the  friend  whom  he 
had  known  for  many  years.  "  Was  it  you  who 
arrived  on  the  last  English  ship  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  count,  saluting  the  other  gen- 
tlemen. "  But  I  believe  there  will  be  more  guests 
here  directly.  I  saw  close  behind  me  two  men, 
wrapped  in  cloaks,  who  were  also  moving  hither. 
Ah,  they  are  passing  the  window  at  this  moment." 

"  And  now  they  are  entering  the  house,"  said 
the  count,  listening. 

Another  rapping  was  heard,  and  the  call  for  the 
password  was  answered  again  by  the  shout  of 
"  11  ett  temps  dejinir  1 " 

"  They  are  the  passengers  from  the  Swedish  ves- 
sel, as  I  hoped  they  would  be,"  said  Count  Mun- 
ster, opening  the  door.  Two  men  in  cloaks  en- 
tered, and  bowed  silently  to  the  others. 

"  Gneisenau !  My  dear  Gneisenau  ! "  exclaimed 
Count  Munster,  tenderly  embracing  the  gentleman 
who  had  entered  last.  "  Then,  you  have  really 
kept  your  word  !  You  have  come  in  spite  of  all 
dangers !  I  thank  you  in  the  name  of  Germany ! " 

"  You  will  thank  me  only  after  having  learned 
what  new  ally  I  have  enlisted  for  our  holy  cause," 
said  Gneisenau,  smiling,  and  pointing  to  his  com- 
panion, who,  still  closely  muffled,  was  standing  by 
his  side  silent  and  motionless. 

"  You  come  from  Stockholm,"  said  Count  Mun- 
ster, joyously,  "you  bring  us  a  delegate  of  the 
crown  prince  of  Sweden,  the  noble  Bernadotte, 
do  you  not  ?  My  heart  does  not  deceive  me — 
I  am  sure ! " 

"  No,  your  heart  docs  not  deceive  you,"  said 
Gneisenau,  smiling.  "  This  gentleman  is  an  envoj 
of  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden,  who  promises 
us  his  friendship  and  assistance." 

"  No,"  said  the  stranger,  slowly  and  solemnly. 
"  At  this  hour  there  must  be  truth  between  us. 
I  iim  not  an  envoy  of  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden, 
I  am  he  himself,  I  am  Bernadotte !  "  He  took  off 
his  hat  and  cloak,  and  bowed  to  the  astonished 


48 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


gentlemen.  "  I  wish  to  prove  to  you,  and  to  those, 
whom  you  are  representing,  that  I  am  in  earnest," 
said  Bernadotte,  in  the  most  dignified  manner. 
"My  French  heart  had  to  undergo  a  long  and 
painful  struggle,  but  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden 
conquered  it.  I  must  think  no  longer  of  the 
blood  that  is  flowing  in  my  veins,  but  remember 
only  that,  by  the  decree  of  the  noble  Swedish  na- 
tion, I  have  been  destined  to  become  its  king, 
and  that,  therefore,  the  interests  of  Sweden  must 
be  more  important  and  sacred  to  me  than  my 
own  heart.  The  Emperor  of  'the  French  has 
offered  me  an  alliance.  But  Russia  and  Prussia 
are  urging  me  to  espouse  their  cause.  The  in- 
terest of  Sweden  requires  me  to  ally  myself  with 
those  who  have  justice,  strength,  and  honor  on 
their  side;  I  shall,  therefore,  side  with  Russia, 
England,  and  Prussia,  This  is  the  reply  which  I 
made  to  the  Russian  ambassadors,  and  likewise 
to  the  Prussian  General  Gneisenau  here.  But,  at 
the  same  time,  I  asked  opportunity  to  complete  my 
preparations,  and  until  that  can  be  done,  I  have 
requested  the  ambassadors  to  keep  secret  my  ac- 
cession to  the  northern  alliance.  It  seemed  to 
me  as  though  this  request  of  mine  were  looked 
upon  as  a  proof  of  my  vacillation,  and  as  a  want 
of  candor,  and  as  though  doubts  were  entertained 
as  to  my  ultimate  decision.  Hence  I  wished  to 
manifest  my  true  spirit  by  coming  myself  to  you 
instead  of  sending  a  delegate.  Now,  you  have 
heard  my  political  confession.  Are  you  content 
with  it,  and  may  I  participate  in  your  deliber- 
ations ?  "  And  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden,  ut- 
tering the  last  words,  turned  with  a  winning 
smile  to  Count  Munster,  and  sank  his  head  as  a 
prisoner  waiting  for  sentence. 

"  I  pray  your  royal  highness,  in  the  name  of 
my  friends  present,  to  remain  and  participate  in 
our  discussions,"  said  Count  Munster.  "We 
are  now  waiting  for  no  further  arrivals — all  the 
invited  gutsts  have  come.  Let  us  take  our  seats. 
Let  the  conference  commence.  But  first  permit 
me  to  introduce  the  gentlemen  to  each  other." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE      EUROPEAN      CONSPIRACY. 

THE  six  gentlemen  sat  down  on  chairs  placed 
.round  the  table  standing  in  the  middle  of  the 
room.  Count  Munster  bowed  to  them.  "  As  it  was 
I  who  invited  you  to  attend  this  conference,"  he 
said,  "  I  must  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you 
first.  I  must  justify  myself  for  having  called  upon 
you  in  the  name  of  Germany,  in  the  name  of  Eu- 
rope, to  come  hither  notwithstanding  the  dangers 
and  hardships  of  the  journey.  Yes,  gentlemen, 
Germany  stands  in  need  of  our  assistance.  But 
not  only  Germany — Spain,  drenched  in  the  blood 
of  her  patriots;  poor,  enslaved  Italy;  Holland, 
ruthlessly  annexed  to  France;  in  short,  all  the 
states  that  are  groaning  under  the  tyrant's 
yoke;  yea,  France  herself! — all  are  crying  for 
deliverance  from  slavery.  But  whence  is  help  to 
come  when  every  one  shuts  his  eyes  against  the 
despairing  wail  of  Europe ;  when  every  one  idly 
folds  his  hands  arid  waits  for  some  one  else  to  be 
bold  enough  to  call  upon  the  people  to  take  up 
arms  ?  Every  individual  must  be  animated  with 
this  courage ;  must  regard  himself  as  chosen  bj; 
Providence  to  commence  the  task  of  liberation. 
Each  one  must  act  as  though  it  were  he  who  is  to 
set  the  world  in  motion,  and  were  the  head  of  tht 
great  and  holy  conspiracy  by  which  mankind  is  to 
be  delivered  from  the  tyrant.  I  told  myself  sc 
when  I  saw  all  Germany  sinking ;  I  repeat  it  to 
myself  every  day,  and  it  is  my  excuse  now  for 
having  ventured  to  invite  thither  men  who  are 
my  superiors  in  every  respect.  But  to  Germany 
alone  we  shall  give  an  account  of  what  we  have 
hitherto  done  for  her  liberation ;  for  her  let  U! 
deliberate  as  to  what  we  further  ought  to  do,  anc 
what  plans  we  should  pursue.  The  world  lies 
prostrate,  but  we  must  raise  it  again;  the  nations 
are  manacled,  but  we  must  be  the  files  that 
imperceptibly  cut  through  the  fetters,  and  we 
must  then  tell  the  people  that  it  is  easy  for  them 
to  gain  their  independence ;  that  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  take  the  sword,  and  prove  by  deeds  that, 
they  feel  themselves  free — then  they  will  be 
free.  This  is  our  task — the  task  of  all  generous 


THE   EUROPEAN   CONSPIRACY. 


49 


patriots.  Every  one  has  been  conscious  of  this, 
but  also  that  there  should  be  a  bond  connecting 
all  the  members  of  this  secret  league,  to  which 
every  patriot  belongs.  That  was  the  idea  which 
mused  several  friends  and  myself  to  unite  our 
efforts.  We  did  so,  and  this  union  made  us  feel 
doubly  strong  ;  we  conferred  as  to  our  duties  and 
schemes,  and  by  doing  so  they  became  clearer  to 
us,  and  better  matured.  We  made  ourselves  emis- 
saries of  the  sacred  cause  of  the  fatherland,  and 
went  into  the  world  to  enlist  soldiers,  to  create  a 
new  nation,  awaken  the  sleepers,  enlighten  the 
ignorant,  bring  back  the  faithless,  undeceive  the 
deceived,  and  console  the  despairing.  For  this 
purpose  I  have  struggled  for  years,  and  so  have 
all  my  friends,  and  so  do  all  good  and  faithful 
patriots,  without  perhaps  being  fully  conscious 
of  it.  But  it  is  necessary,  too,  that  those  who, 
like  us,  are  fully  alive  to  their  duty,  should 
from  time  to  time  give  each  other  an  account 
of  what  they  have  accomplished,  that  they 
may  agree  upon  new  plans  for  the  future.  I, 
therefore,  requested  my  friends  Count  Nugent 
and  General  Gneisenau,  to  come  hither ;  I  wrote 
to  Minister  von  Stein,  who  is  now  at  Prague, 
either  to  come  himself,  or  send  a  reliable  repre- 
sentative, and  I  requested  another  in  Northern 
Germany  to  send  one  of  his  intimate  friends. 
Four  months  ago  I  dispatched  my  invitations ; 
the  meeting  was  to  take  place  to-day,  and  we 
have  all  promptly  responded  to  the  call.  My 
friend  in  Northern  Germany  induced  the  noblest 
and  most  faithful  soldier  of  the  fatherland,  Duke 
Frederick  William  of  Brunswick,  to  go  to  Helgo- 
land. Minister  von  Stein,  who,  in  the  mean  time, 
was  obliged  to  go  to  Russia,  sends  us  a  noble 
representative  in  the  person  of  Justus  Gruner, 
find  the  mupMiiimous  crown  priuce  of  Sweden 
offers  us,  by  his  voluntary  appearance  in  our 
midst,  a  iit-w  plurality  for  the  success  of  our 
schem<-.  \\V  know  now  what  has  calK-d  us 
hither.  Li  t  us  comnmnii-atM  to  each  other  what 
we  have  hitherto  lour,  in  order  to  attain  the  ob- 
ject for  which  we  are  striving,  and  whit  plans 
•*e  shall  adopt.  In  this  respect,  the  two  noble 
princes  now  in  our  midst  are  especially  able  to 


make  valuable  suggestions,  and  it  is  to  them 
principally  that  we  shall  apply.  The  former 
question,  however,  concerns  chiefly  ourselves, 
who  have  for  years  been  members  of  the  league, 
and  have  jointly  tried  to  promote  its  objects.  In 
order  to  know  what  we  should  do,  we  must  b« 
informed  exactly  of  what  we  have  already  done. 
To  be  able  to  conceive  plans  for  the  future,  we 
must  carefully  weigh,  and  render  ourselves  per- 
fectly familiar  with,  the  present  political  situa- 
tion, and  communicate  our  observations  and  ad- 
ventures to  each  other.  Let  us  do  so  now.  Let 
the  gentleman  who  arrived  last  speak  first.  Gen- 
eral Gneisenau,  tell  U3,  therefore,  what  hopes  do 
you  entertain  in  regard  to  Prussia  ?  What  are 
the  sentiments  of  the  king  ?  What  has  Germany 
or  Prussia  to  hope  from  the  ministers  of  Fred- 
erick William  ?  What  is  the  spirit  of  the  people 
and  the  soldiers  ?  " 

"  You  ask  a  great  deal,"  said  Gneisenau,  sigh- 
ing, "  and  I  have  but  little  to  reply.  I  have  no 
hopes  whatever  in  regard  to  Prussia.  That  is  the 
result  of  the  observations  during  my  present  jour- 
ney. Every  thing  is  in  about  the  same  condition 
as  it  was  in  1811 ;  the  same  men  are  still  ruling, 
and  the  same  state  of  affairs,  on  account  of  which 
I  left  the  Prussian  service  at  that  time,  is  still 
prevailing.  The  king  is  the  noblest  and  best- 
meaning  mun,  but  his  indecision  and  distrust  in 
his  own  abilities  are  his  own  curse,  as  well  as  that 
of  his  country.  When,  in  1808,  we  heard  at  K6- 
nigsberg  the  news  of  the  events  of  Bayonne,  the 
king  said,  'Bonaparte  will  assuredly  not  catch 
me  in  such  a  manner  ! '  and  now  he  has  delivered 
himself  into  the  hands  of  his  most  relentless  ene- 
my, who,  if  Russia  should  be  defeated,  would  de- 
throne him,  or,  if  Bonaparte  should  not  be  suc- 
cessful, keep  him  as  a  hostage.*  The  friends 
of  the  French,  the  timid,  and  the  cowards,  are 
still  besieging  the  king's  ears,  and  enjoying  hia 
confidence  to  a  greater  extent  than  Hardenberg 
Hanli'iibcrg  is  all  right,  but  he  intends, 
after  the  fashion  of  diplomatists,  to  attain  the 
great  object  slowly  and  cautiously,  instead  of 


*  Gnoisenau'B  own  words.-Vide  "  Lebonsbilder,"  vol. 
1.,  p.  261. 


50 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


struggling  for  it  boldly,  and  sword  in  hand.  He 
is  secretly  on  our  side ;  he  hates  Napoleon  and 
curses  the  chains  that  are  fettering  Prussia ;  he 
is  always  planning  as  to  the  best  means  of 
breaking  them,  but  publicly  he  negotiates  with 
the  diplomatists  of  Napoleon  to  bring  about  a 
marriage  between  the  crown  prince  and  one  of 
Napoleon's  nieces.  There  can  be  no  question  of 
an  army  in  Prussia,  for  the  forty  thousand  men 
whom  Napoleon  permitted  the  King  of  Prussia 
still  to  retain  under  arms,  had  either  to  accom- 
pany the  French  army  to  Russia,  or  are  at  least 
stationed,  as  Napoleon's  reserves,  on  the  extreme 
frontiers.  Berlin,  as  well  as  all  larger  cities,  and 
the  fortresses,  are  garrisoned  by  French  troops, 
keeping  down  the  national  spirit  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  rendering  any  attempt  at  insurrection 
an  utter  impossibility,  even  though  the  people 
should  intend  to  strike.  But  they  think  no  longer 
of  rising.  They  are  exhausted  in  their  misery, 
and  have  lost  their  energy.  They  feel  only  that 
they  are  suffering,  but  they  inquire  no  more  for 
the  cause.  And  thus  Prussia  will  perish,  unless 
some  powerful  impetus  from  abroad,  some  dis- 
pensation of  Providence,  should  arouse  her  from 
her  lethargy,  ana  restore  her  to  the  consciousness 
of  her  disgrace  and  her  strength.  I  hope  that 
this  will  occur  ;  for  only  this  and  England's 
energy  will  be  able  to  save  us.  But  other  hopes  I 
do  not  entertain.  I,  therefore,  shall  leave  Prus- 
sia again  and  accompany  you  to  England,  Count 
Munster,  when  you  return  thither." 

"  I  shall  set  out  for  England  this  day,  as  soon 
as  our  conference  is  at  an  end,"  said  Count 
Munster,  "  and  you  will  be  a  most  welcome  and 
agreeable  companion.  It  is  only  now  that  I  per- 
ceive how  necessary  a  personal  interview  was, 
and  how  good  it  is  that  we  are  here  assembled. 
Many  things,  which  cannot  be  explained  in  the 
longe&t  letters,  may  be  perfectly  understood  after 
an  interview  of  fifteen  minutes.  I  believe  and 
hope,  my  friend,  that  your  view  of  the  present 
state  of  affairs  is  by  far  too  gloomy.  You  are 
doping  for  an  impetus  from  abroad ;  but  that  will 
scarcely  be  needed  to  arouse  the  nations  from 
their  letharg/  -A  Dew  spirit  is  animating  Ger- 


many, and  it  is  Spain,  with  her  heroic  victories, 
that  has  awakened  this  spirit.  The  immortal 
defence  of  Saragossa  has  passed  like  a  magic 
song  throughout  Europe,  and  has  told  the  op- 
pressed and  enslaved  nations  that  Bonaparte  is 
not  invincible,  and  that  a  nation  which  will  not 
suffer  itself  to  be  enslaved  has  the  strength  to 
defend  itself  against  the  most  powerful  tyrant. 
Looking  upon  Spain,  the  nations  recollect  these 
noble  words  of  Tacitus :  '  It  is  not  the  tyrants  who 
make  nations  slaves,  but  the  nations  degrading 
themselves  voluntarily  to  the  abject  position  of 
slaves  make  tyrants.'  And  the  nations  will  have 
no  more  tyrants,  but  are  determined  to  annihilate 
him  who  has  put  his  foot  upon  their  neck.  Tell 
us,  Count  Nugent — you  who,  in  the  service  of 
holy  liberty,  have  been  wandering  about  the  world 
for  the  last  two  years — tell  us  whether  I  am  not 
justified  in  asserting  that  the  nations  are  about 
to  awake  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  believe  so,"  said  Count  Nugent,  joy- 
ously. "  For  the  third  time  during  two  years  I 
have  finished  a  journey  through  Europe.  From 
Vienna  I  went  by  way  of  Trieste,  Corfu,  and 
Malta,  to  the  British  generals  in  Sicily,  Spain,  and 
Portugal,  thence  to  England,  and  from  England  I 
returned  to  Vienna  under  an  assumed  name  and 
all  sorts  of  disguises.  During  my  first  two  jour- 
neys I  saw  everywhere  only  that  the  nations  sub- 
mitted unhesitatingly,  as  though  Bonaparte  were 
the  scourge  which  God  Himself  had  sent  to  chas- 
tise them,  and  against  whom  they  were  not 
allowed  to  revolt,  although  rivers  of  blood  were 
spilled.  But  I  saw  no  prince  who  had  the 
strength  or  courage,  or  even  the  wish  to  rul< 
as  a  free  and  independent  sovereign  over  a 
free  people.  The  princes  were  everywhere  con- 
tent with  being  the  vassals  of  France;  they 
deemed  themselves  happy  to  have  secured  by 
their  humiliation  at  least  a  title ;  they  were  striv- 
ing to  obtain  by  base  sycophancy  additional  ter- 
ritories and  orders,  and  betraying  their  own 
country  and  their  own  people  in  order  to  tterve 
the  Emperor  of  France.  It  was  a  terrible,  heart- 
rending spectacle  presented  by  Germany  during 
these  last  years,  and  which  could  not  but  fill  th« 


THE  EUROPEAN  CONSPIRACY. 


51 


heart  of  every  patriot  with  shame  and  despair. 
And  yet  this  period  of  degradation  was  necessary 
and  even  salutary,  for  it  blinded  Napoleon  by 
the  glaring  sunshine  of  his  power;  it  rendered 
him  overbearing  and  reckless;  he  dared  every 
thing,  because  he  believed  he  would  succeed  in 
every  thing,  and  that  the  world  had  utterly  suc- 
tumbed  to  his  power.  He  dared  all,  trampled  on 
every  feeling  of  justice,  and  thereby  finally  goaded 
the  nations  to  resist  him.  In  1810  he  exclaimed 
triumphantly,  'Three  years  yet,  and  I  shall  be 
master  of  the  world ! '  And  when  he  lately  took 
ne  field  against  Russia,  he  said,  'After  humili- 
ating Russia  and  reducing  her  to  an  Asiatic 
power,  I  shall  establish  at  Paris  a  universal  Eu- 
ropean court  and  universal  archives ! '  He  be- 
lieves himself  to  be  the  master  of  the  world ;  he 
thinks  the  thunderbolts  of  heaven  are  in  his 
hands,  and  his  arrogance  will  drive  him  to  de- 
struction, for  'the  gods  first  blind  him  whom 
they  intend  to  destroy.'  And  Napoleon  is  blind, 
for  he  does  not  see  the  wrath  of  the  nations ;  he 
is  deaf,  for  he  does  not  hear  the  imprecations 
which  all  nations,  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the 
North  Sea  and  the  Baltic,  are  uttering  against 
him.  Yes,  the  morning  is  dawning,  and  the  na- 
tions are  awaking  ;  Napoleon  has  already  passed 
t  ie  zenith  of  his  glory ;  his  star  does  not  now 
dazzle  mankind  ;  they  have  commenced  to  doubt 

-lability  of  his  power.  I  saw  a  curious  in- 
stance of  this  last  year  in  Vienna  at  Metternich's 
saloon.  When  the  courier  who  brought  the  news 
of  the  birth  of  the  King  of  Rome,  still  exhausted 
by  the  rapid  ride  from  Nancy,  entered  and  held 
up  Champagny's  letter  containing  nothing  but 
these  words,  'Eh  bien,  Ie  Roi  de  Rome  ett  ar- 

' '  every  one  cried,  '  Is  not  the  hand  of  God 
there  ?  The  wonderful  man  has  the  son  he  wished 
for.  Whither  will  the  madmen  and  demagogues 
direct  their  hopes  now  ? '  But  a  courageous  and 
merry  native  of  Vienna  exclaimed  in  the  midst 
of  the  diplomatists  *0h!  ten  years  hence  this 
King  of  Rome  will  be  a  poor  little  student  in  this 
city  ! '  *  The  diplomatists  were  silent ;  the  for- 
mer ambassador  of  Hanover,  however,  Count  Har- 


•  Historical— Vide  "  Lebenflbilder,"  voL  1.,  p.  80. 


denberg,  brother  of  tt  j  chancellor  of  state,  burst 
into  loud  laughter.  These  words  were  circulated 
among  the  people,  and  the  Viennese  say  now 
smilingly,  though  as  yet  in  a  low  tone,  '  The  King 
of  Rome  will  come  as  a  poor  student  to  Vienna.' 
And  the  same  words  are  repeated  more  boldly  by 
the  faithful  Tyrolese,  the  guardians  of  the  fires 
of  patriotism.  The  Italians  are  whetting  their 
swords,  and  France  herself  is  preparing  for  the 
possibility  of  a  new  state  of  affairs.  The  military 
ardor  of  her  marshals  is  exhausted ;  like  the 
whole  country,  they  are  longing  for  repose ;  they 
begin  to  curse  him  whom  they  have  hitherto 
idolized ;  they  want  peace,  and  are  determined 
to  compel  Napoleon  to  comply  with  their  de- 
mands." 

,  ,And  is  our  friend,  Baron  von  Stein,  also  ot 
this  opinion  ?  "  asked  Count  Munster,  turning  to 
Justus  Gruner. 

"  Yes,  he  is,"  said  Gruner.  "  When  the 
Emperor  Alexander  invited  him  to  come  to  St. 
Petersburg,  he  went  thither  not  so  much  became 
he  needed  an  asylum,  but  because  ue  believed  he 
could  serve  the  cause  of  Germany  in  a  more  effi- 
cacious manner  in  Russia  than  anywhere  else,  and 
was  convinced  that  Alexander  needed  a  firm  and 
energetic  adviser  to  fan  his  hostility  to  Napoleon, 
and  keep  all  pacific  influences  away  from  him. 
Nothing  but  a  crushing  defeat  of  Napoleon  in 
Russia  can  deliver  Germany;  Stein  feels  con 
vinced  of  it,  and  therefore  he  stands  as  an  im- 
movable rock  by  the  side  of  Alexander,  and  never 
s  to  influence  the  emperor  by  soul-stirring 
and  courageous  advice.  Here  is  a  letter  which 
Stein  requested  me  to  deliver  to  Count  Munster." 

Count  Munster  took  the  letter  and  quickly 
glanced  over  it.  "  Ah,"  he  exclaimed,  joyously, 
"  Stein,  too,  believes  the  day  to  be  at  hand  when 
Germany  will  and  must  rise ;  he,  too,  prophesies 
that  Napoleon  will  speedily  fall.  It  is,  therefore, 
time  for  us  to  think  of  the  future,  and  agree  as  to 
the  steps  to  be  taken.  And  now  I  take  the  lib- 
erty of  asking  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden  what 
:ance  he  offers  us,  and  what  the  nations  en- 
slaved by  Napoleon  may  hope  from  him  ?  " 

"  All  the  assistance  which.  I  and  my  country 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


are  able  to  offer,"  said  the  crown  prince,  ardent- 
ly. "The  king  has  authorized  me  to  take  all 
necessary  measures  for  an  active  campaign.  Al- 
ready I  have  chartered  transports;  the  troops 
which  are  to  participate  in  the  campaign  have 
been  concentrated  in  their  camps,  and  will  soon 
march  to  the  various  points  of  embarkation. 
When  the  German  powers  call  me — when  it  is 
sure  that  England  entertains  honest  intentions 
toward  us,  and  will  stand  faithfully  by  us,  I  shall 
be  ready  to  embark  with  my  troops  and  partici- 
pate in  the  great  struggle,  provided  that  the 
annexation  of  Norway  to  Sweden  be  guaran- 
teed." 

"  I  am  authorized  to  do  so  in  the  name  of  Eng- 
land," exclaimed  Count  Munster. 

"  In  that  case  the  Swedes  will  regard  this  cam- 
paign as  a  national  affair,"  said  Bernadotte,  "  and 
will  joyously  rally  round  the  banner  of  their  crown 
prince,  who,  on  his  part,  longs  for  nothing  more 
than  to  follow  the  footsteps  of  the  great  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  and  give  Sweden  fresh  claims  to  her 
ancient  glory  and  the  gratitude  of  the  nations.* 
I  am  waiting  for  the  call  of  the  allied  powers  to 
hasten  to  the  point  where  I  may  do  good  ser- 
vice." 

"  And  so  am  I,"  said  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
eagerly.  "  I  have  nothing  to  offer  to  Germany 
but  my  hatred  against  Napoleon,  my  burning 
thirst  for  vengeance,  my  name,  and  my  sword." 

"  But  those  will  be  the  dragon's  teeth,  from 
which,  in  due  time,  will  spring  up  mail-clad  war- 
riors," exclaimed  Munster — "  warriors  who,  with 
the  most  ardent  enthusiasm,  will  follow  the  hero 
whose  audacious  expedition  from  the  forests  of 
Bohemia  to  the  Weser  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  the  patriots  of  Germany.  Let  us  prepare 
every  thing  as  secretly  as  possible ;  let  us  enlist 
soldiers  for  the  great  and  holy  army ;  its  chief- 
tains are  ready ;  Gneisenau,  Frederick  William 
of  Brunswick,  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden,  and, 
in  due  time,  Blucher,  Schwarzenberg,  and  Wel- 
lington, will  join  them." 

"  Yes,  let  us  prepare  for  the  great  task  of  the 

*  Bernadotte's  own  words.— Vide  "  Memoires  d'un 
flomme  d  £tat,"  vol.  xj. 


future,"  exclaimed  Gneisenau.  "  I  feel  now 
animated  with  hope,  patience,  and  courage.  I 
go  to  London,  but  not  to  brood  over  my  fate  ;  I 
go  to  enlist  an  English  legion  for  Germany ;  to 
tell  the  English  ministers  that  the  British  gov- 
ernment can  take  no  step  more  conducive  to  the 
liberation  of  the  nations  and  the  safety  of  Great 
Britain  than  make  Germany  the  principal  seat  of 
war,  and  transfer  thither  Wellington,  with  all  the 
troops  in  Spain,  and  those  which  can  be  spared 
from  the  islands  of  the  United  Kingdom.  Let 
them  consider  me  a  visionary ;  the  future  will, 
perhaps,  prove  to  them  that  I  was  right.  Oh,  a 
victory  over  Napoleon  in  Germany  would  loosen 
the  fetters  of  all  governments,  throw  the  most  de- 
termined efforts  of  many  millions  of  people  into 
the  scales  of  Great  Britain,  and  deliver  us,  per- 
haps forever,  from  the  monster  equally  terrible  in 
his  strength  and  in  his  poison."  * 

"And  I  go  to  Vienna  to  influence,  together 
with  my  friends,  the  patriotic  impulses  of  the 
emperor,"  said  Count  Nugent.  "  I  go  to  Austria 
to  tell  the  noble  Archdukes  John  and  Charlea 
that  they  ought  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness, 
and  to  inform  the  Tyrolese  that  the  war  of  libera- 
tion is  at  hand." 

"  Baron  von  Stein  has  sent  me  to  Germany  to 
enlist  there  an  intellectual  army,  and  set  in  mo- 
tion for  Germany  not  only  swords  but  pens," 
said  Justus  Gruner,  smiling.  "Stein  says  the 
sword  will  only  do  its  work  when  the  mind  has 
paved  the  way  for  it.  The  mind  and  the  free 
word,  these  are  the  generals  that  must  precede 
the  sword,  and,  before  raising  an  army  of  sol- 
diers, we  must  raise  an  army  of  ideas  and  minds 
to  take  the  field.  And  there  can  be  no  better 
mental  chieftain  than  noble  Baron  von  Stein.  He 
has  placed  a  worthy  adjutant  at  his  side  ;  I  refer 
to  Ernst  Moritz  Arndt,  whom  Stein  has  called  to 
St.  Petersburg,  and  who  is  thence  to  send  his 
patriotic  songs  into  the  world,  and  by  his  soul- 
stirring  writings  kindle  the  ardor  of  the  Germans. 
I  have  brought  with  me  some  of  Arndt's  pamphlets 
that  have  been  printed  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  his 


*  Gneisenau's  own  words.— Vide  "  LebensHlder,"  vol. 
i.,  p.  274. 


THE   EUROPEAN   CONSPIRACY. 


53 


catechism  for  German  soldiers,  which  gives  in- 
structions as  to  what  a  Christian  warrior  ought  to 
be,  and  has  been  circulated,  in  spite  of  Napoleon's 
power,  in  all  the  German  divisions  of  his  army. 
To  influence  public  opinion  in  Germany  is  the 
task  which  £tein  and  the  Emperor  Alexander 
have  intrusted  to  me.  I  am  to  report  about 
every  thing  that  takes  place  in  the  rear  of  the 
French  army,  and  try  to  obtain  correct  information 
concerning  its  reinforcements  and  the  condition 
of  the  fortresses.  My  principal  task,  however, 
will  be  to  direct  public  opinion,  exasperate  the 
people  against  their  oppressors,  and  the  accom- 
plices of  the  latter,  support  isolated  risings,  and 
organize  flying  corps  for  the  purpose  of  intercept- 
ing the  couriers."  * 

"  That  is  a  plan  strictly  in  accordance  with  the 
indomitable  spirit  of  Baron  von  Stein.  However, 
the  influence  and  power  of  one  person  will  not  suf- 
fice to  carry  it  into  effect." 

"I  am,  therefore,  authorized  to  enlist  agents 
whom  the  Emperor  of  Russia  will  pay,"  said 
Gruner.  "Hired  observers  and  spies  must  be 
?pread  all  over  Germany.  I  must  everywhere 
bave  my  confidants — my  agents  and  instruments. 
Such  I  have  already  engaged  in  some  forty  cities. 
.  furnish  them  instructions,  telling  them  what  to 
jo,  in  order  to  participate  in  the  liberation  of  Ger- 
many ;  they  have  to  send  me  weekly  reports,  writ- 
ten of  course  in  cipher  and  with  chemical  ink,  and, 
on  my  part,  I  address  reports  to  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander and  Baron  von  Stein,  which  I  forward  every 
week  by  special  couriers  to  Russia.  My  agents, 
as  well  as  myself,  will  endeavor  to  hold  inter- 
course with  all  prominent  patriots,  and  our  noble 
Stein  has  referred  me  especially  to  the  eminent 
gentlemen  here  assembled.  General  Scharnhorst, 
too,  is  aware  of  our  enterprise ;  President  von 
Vinke  supports  it  in  the  most  enthusiastic  and 
active  manner,  and  we  find  everywhere  friends, 
assistance,  and  advice.  Already  the  net-work  is 
f  pread  over  the  country ;  this  will  every  day  be- 
come more  impenetrable — a  fatal  trap  in  which,  if 
it  please  God,  we  shall  one  day  catch  Bonaparte." 

"But  beware  of   traitors,"   exclaimed   Count 

•  Pertz,  u  Life  of  Baron  von  Stein,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  117. 


Nugent,  anxiously.  "All  your  agents  are  not 
reticent,  for,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  have  already 
heard  of  your  bold  scheme,  and  Austria  is  highly 
indignant.  Count  Metternich,  a  few  days  since, 
addressed  a  complaint  to  the  Prussian  cabinet 
about  what  he  calls  your  revolutionary  intriguet, 
and  the  Prussian  Minister  von  Biilow,  who  if 
friendly  to  France,  is  greatly  exasperated  against 
Justus  Gruner  and  his  guerilla  warfare.  Be  on 
your  guard,  sir,  that,  while  weaving  this  net-work 
of  conspiracy,  you  may  not  yourself  fall  into  the 
snares  of  the  insidious  police." 

"And  if  I  do,  what  matters  it  if  one  dies, 
provided  the  cause  he  served  lives  ?  "  exclaimed 
Justus  Gruner,  enthusiastically.  "  This  sacred 
cause  cannot  die ;  it  is  strong  enough  to  succeed, 
even  without  me.  It  is  spreading  everywhere, 
and  will  remain,  though  the  little  spider  that 
wove  it  should  be  crushed.  There  is  but  one  part 
of  Germany  in  which  my  work  still  lacks  the  ne- 
cessary point's  where  I  might  secure  it." 

"  You  allude  to  Austria,  do  you  not  ?  " 

"  I  do  ;  there  my  agents  are  distrustfully  turned 
away  from  the  frontier,  and  I  have  so  far  been 
unable  to  enlist  special  and  active  allies.  I  pray 
you,  therefore,  give  me  the  names  of  some  re- 
liable, honest,  and  faithful  men  to  whom  I  may 
apply  ;  for  I  must  go  to  Austria." 

"That  is  to  say,"  exclaimed  Count  Nugent, 
"  you  are  going  to  prison.  Let  me  warn  you,  do 
not  go  to  Austria ;  Metternich's  spies  have  keen 
eyes,  and  if  they  catch  you,  you  are  lost." 

"  I  must  go  to  Austria,"  said  Gruner,  smiling ; 
"  the  cause  of  the  fatherland  demands  it.  Dangers 
will  not  deter  me,  and  if  the  Austrian  police  are  on 
the  lookout  for  me — well,  I  have  been  myself  a 
police-officer,  and  may  outwit  them.  In  the  first 
place,  however,  I  shall  go  to  Leipsic,  to  have  the 
second  volume  of  Arndt's  excellent  work,  *  The 
Spirit  of  the  Times,'  secretly  printed,  and  cause  a 
printing-office  to  be  established  on  the  Saxon 
frontier  for  the  purpose  of  issuing  the  war  bul- 
letins which  I  am  to  receive  from  Russia.  But 
then  I  shall  go  to  Prague  and  Vienna." 

"  And  may  God  grant  success  to  your  enter- 
prise !  "  said  Count  Munster.  "  We  shall  all,  I  am 


54 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


satisfied  of  it,  nelp  in  carrying  out  your  schemes 
wherever  we  can.  We  will  try  to  liberate  you 
if  you  are  imprisoned,  and  avenge  you  if  killed. 
Shall  we  not  ?  " 

"  We  shall ! "  exclaimed  Gneisenau  and  Berna- 
dotte,  Nugent,  and  Frederick  William  of  Bruns- 
wick, and  all  four  offered  their  hands  to  Gruner. 

"  Henceforth  we  all  act  for  one,  and  one  for  all," 
exclaimed  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  enthusiastically, 
"  and  my  noble  father  is  looking  down  and  bless- 
ing us.  Oh,  may  the  hour  of  liberation  soon 
strike  !  We  have  our  hands  on  our  swords,  and 
wait  for  Germany  to  call  us." 

"  We  are  ready,  and  wait  for  our  country  to 
call  us,"  they  said,  shaking  hands  with  determined 
eyes  and  smiling  lips. 

"  And  now,  if  the  gentlemen  have  no  objection, 
I  will  adjourn  the  conference,"  said  Count  Mun- 
iter,  after  a  pause.  "  We  well  know  each  other, 
and  what  we  have  to  do.  Here  is  the  cipher  in 
which  we  may  write  to  each  other  whenever  im- 
portant communications  are  to  be  made.  Justus 
Gruner  will  see  to  it  that  his  agents  will  promptly 
forward  the  letters  to  us." 

"I  will,"  said  Justus  Gruner,  "and  as  long 
as  I  am  not  in  prison,  or  dead,  you  may  be  sure 
that  your  letters  will  not  fall  into  the  hands  of 
enemies  or  traitors."  * 

"And  now  let  us  go.  God  save  us  and  Ger- 
many!" 


CHAPTER  IX. 

GEBHARD  LEBERECHT  BLUCHER. 

IT  was  a  cold  and  unpleasant  morning  in  De- 
cember. The  dreary  sky  hung  like  a  pall  over 
the  oppressed  world.  How  beautiful  and  fragrant 

*  The  predictions  and  apprehensions  of  Count  Nugent 
were  fulfilled  but  too  soon.  Gruner  went  as  far  as  Prague, 
but  there  he  was  arrested  in  the  last  days  of  October,  at 
the  special  request  of  the  Prussian  police,  deprived  of  his 
papers  and  his  funds,  and  sent  to  an  Austrian  fortress. 
The  Emperor  of  Knssia  succeeded  only  nine  months  af- 
terward in  obtaining  his  release.— Vide  Pertz's  *l  Life  of 
Baron  von  Stein,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  181. 


had  been  the  summer  park  of  the  estate  of  Kun- 
zendorf !  now  it  was  bereft  of  its  flowers,  and  the 
cold  gray  trees  were  moaning  in  the  winter  blasts. 
How  bright  had  been  this  large  room  on  the  lower 
floor  of  the  mansion  of  Kunzendorf,  when  the 
summer  morning  flung  its  beams  into  the  windows, 
while  a  merry  company  were  chatting  and  laugh- 
ing there !  But,  on  this  day,  no  guests  were  as- 
sembled  in  it.  It  contained  but  two  persons,  an 
old  gentleman  and  lady.  The  gentleman  was 
sitting  at  the  window  and  looking  out  mournfully 
into  the  cold ;  he  seemed  to  count  the  snow- 
flakes  slowly  falling.  A  large  military  cloak  en- 
veloped his  tall,  powerful  form;  his  right  leg, 
encased  in  a  heavy  cavalry-boot,  rested  on  a 
cushion;  his  head  was  leaning  against  the  high 
back  of  the  easy-chair  on  which  he  sat.  His 
bearing  and  appearance  indicated  suffering,  age, 
and  disease ;  he  who  did  not  look  at  his  coun- 
tenance could  not  but  believe  that  he  was  in  the 
presence  of  a  sick  and  decrepit  old  man ;  but 
when  his  face  turned  to  the  beholder,  with  its 
large,  fiery  blue  eyes,  high  and  scarcely-furrowed 
brow,  Roman  nose,  and  florid  complexion,  he 
thought  he  saw  the  head  of  a  man  of  about  fifty 
years.  It  is  true,  the  hair  which  covered  his 
temples  in  a  few  thin  tufts  was  snow-white,  and 
so  was  the  mustache  which  shaded  his  mouth  and 
hung  down  on  both  sides  of  it,  imparting  a  vigor- 
ous and  martial  expression  to  the  whole  face,  and 
contrasting  with  his  bronzed  cheeks  and  flashing 
eyes. 

Opposite  him,  in  the  niche  of  the  other  window, 
sat  a  lady  in  a  plain,  yet  elegant  toilet.  Small 
brown  ringlets,  threaded  here  and  there  with 
white,  peeped  forth  from  the  lace  cap,  trimmed 
with  blue  ribbons,  and  a  gray  silk  dress,  reaching 
to  the  neck,  enveloped  her  slender  and  graceful 
form.  Her  countenance,  which  still  showed  traces 
of  former  beauty,  was  bent  over  her  embroidery, 
and  her  white,  tapering  fingers,  adorned  with 
many  rings,  but-ily  plied  the  needle. 

The  old  gentleman  blew  dense  clouds  of  smoke 
from  his  long  clay  pipe,  and  nothing  broke  the 
silence  save  the  parrot  (in  a  large  gilded  cage  on 
a  marble  pedestal  in  the  third  window-niche), 


GEBIIARD   LEBERECHT   BLUCHER. 


5a 


altering  from  time  to  time  a  loud  scream,  or 
exclaiming  in  a  sharp  voice,  "Good-morning!" 
The  ticking  of  the  bronze  clock  on  the  mantel- 
piece at  the  other  end  of  the  room  could  be  dis- 
tinctly heard.  Suddenly  the  old  gentleman  struck 
the  window-board  so  violently  with  his  right  hand 
that  the  panes  rattled,  the  lady  gave  a  start,  and 
the  parrot  screeched.  "  Well,  now  it  is  all 
right,"  he  exclaimed  savagely, — "it  snows  so 
thickly  that  nothing  can  be  seen  at  a  distance  of 
twenty  yards.  The  roads  will  be  blocked  up 
again,  and  no  one  will  come  to  us  from  Neisse 
to-day.  We  shall  be  left  alone,  and  the  time 
will  hang  as  heavily  with  us  as  with  a  pug-dog  in 
a  bandbox.  But,"  he  exclaimed,  jumping  up 
so  hastily  tint  his  long  clay  pipe  broke  on  his 
knee  and  fell  in  small  pieces  on  the  floor,  "  it  is 
all  right  If  the  guests  from  Neisse  do  not  come 
to  me,  I  will  go  to  them."  While  uttering  these 
words,  he  fixed  his  lustrous  eyes  on  the  lady,  and 
eeemed  to  wait  for  a  reply  from  her ;  but  she 
remained  silent,  and  seemed  to  ply  her  needle 
even  more  industriously.  "  Well,"  he  asked 
at  last,  hesitatingly,  "what  do  you  say  to  it, 
Amelia?" 

"Nothing  at  all,  Blucher,"  she  replied,  with- 
out looking  at  him;  "for  you  did  not  ask  me 
about  it" 

"  Why,  that  is  an  agreeable  addition  to  this 
horrible  weather,  that  my  wife  should  pout ! " 
exclaimed  Blucher,  casting  a  despairing  glance  at 
the  sky.  He  then  looked  again  at  his  wife.  She 
was  Btill  bending  over  her  embroidery  and 
remained  silent.  He  approached,  and  seizing 
both  her  hands  with  gentle  violence,  took  the 
embroidery  and  threw  it  away.  "  Why  is  your 
attention  directed  to  that  old  rag,  Amelia,  in- 
stead of  looking  at  me?"  he  said,  with  ill-re- 
trained anger.  "  Wife,  you  know  I  am  not  rude; 
when  with  you  I  am  as  gentle  as  :i  lamb;  but  you 
must  not  pout,  Amelia,  for  that  makes  me  angry. 
And  now  speak — tell  me  honestly— what  is  it? 
What  have  I  done  to  you  ?  " 

"Nothing."  she  said,  fixing  her  dark  eyes  upon 
him  with  a  sad  expression,  "  nothing  at  all !  " 

"  Aba !  you  do  not  want  to  tell  me,"  exclaimed 


a.itu  |   j\ju 


Blucher,  looking  at  her  uneasily,  "  but  I  know  it 
nevertheless.  Yes,  I  know  what  ails  you,  and 
why  you  are  in  bad  humor  with  me.  Will  you 
give  me  a  kiss,  if  I  guess  what  it  is  ?  "  She  nod- 
ded, and  an  almost  imperceptible  smile  played 
around  her  finely-formed  lips.  "  Now,  listen,"  he 
said,  drawing  her  to  himself,  and  putting  his  hand 
under  her  chin.  "  You  are  angry  because  I  came 
home  from  Nctsse  so  late  last  night  ?  " 

"Last  night?"  she  asked.  "I  believe  it  was 
at  five  o'clock  this  morning." 

"  Yes,  I  promised  you  to  be  back  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  because  the  doctor  said  the 
night  air  is  injurious  to  me,  and  would  increase 
my  pains.  But,  you  see,  Amelia,  it  would  not  do. 
We  went  to  the  'Ressource,'  and  there  I  met 
some  old  friends — " 

"And  there  we  played  faro,"  his  wife  inter- 
rupted him,  "and  I  lost  the  two  hundred  louis 
d'ors  with  which  I  desired  to  buy  four  new  car- 
riage-horses." 

"  Yes,  it  is  all  true,"  said  Blucher,  soothingly. 
"  But  what  'matters  it  ?  In  the  first  ^luce,  I  am 
quite  well,  which  proves  what  foola  ct,e  doctors 
are ;  they  think  they  know  every  tein<r,  and,  in 
fact,  know  nothing.  I  feel  no  pain,  and  yet  have 
inhaled  the  night  air.  And  as  to  the  two  hundred 
louis  d'ors — well,  I  am  almost  glad  that  I  lost  them, 
for  1  amused  myself.  Do  you  know  who  was 
among  the  gamblers  ?  Ex-Major  von  Leesten  ! " 

"  Major  von  Leesten  ?  "  asked  his  wife,  wonder- 
ingly.  "  But  he  never  plays — he  is  so  sensible  a 
gentleman,  that — " 

"  That  he  does  not  deal  cards,  you  mean  ?  "  in- 
terrupted Blucher,  smiling.  "  Yea,  you  see,  I  am 
also  a  sensible  man,  but  I  deal  cards  sometimes, 
and,  for  the  rest,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  seduced 
Major  von  Leesten  to  play  last  night." 

"  That  was  very  wrong,"  said  Madame  von 
Blucher,  in  a  tone  of  gentle  reproach.  "  Leesten 
is  poor ;  he  has  a  large  family — five  full-grown 
daughters,  who,  of  course,  will  not  be  married 
because  they  have  no  fortune.  And  now  you  se- 
duce  the  poor  man,  and  he  will  lose  the  last 
penny  belonging  to  his  family.  For  the  most  ter- 
rible consequences  of  this  gambling  passion  are, 


56 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


that  it  deprives  men  of  reflection,  attachment  to 
their  family,  and  prudence.  A  man  who  is  ad- 
dicted to  playing  cards,  loves  nothing  but  his 
cards ;  every  thing  else  seems  unimportant  to 
him  ;  I  see  it  in  your  case,  Blucher,  and  it  makes 
my  heart  ache.  You  do  not  love  me,  your  time 
hangs  heavy  in  my  presence;  the  card-table  is 
your  only  pleasure,  and  I  believe,  when  the  pas- 
sion seizes  you,  and  you  have  lost  all  your  money, 
you  would  stake  the  remainder  of  your  property 
on  a  card,  and  your  wife  to  boot ! " 

Blucher  burst  into  loud  laughter.  "Why,"  he 
exclaimed,  "  what  an  odd  idea  that  is  !  I  stake 
you  on  a  card,  you — " 

"You  suppose  that  no  one  would  care  about 
winning  me  ?  "  asked  Madame  von  Blucher,  smil- 
ing. 

"  No,  I  do  not  think  that,"  replied  Blucher, 
suddenly  growing  serious.  "Why  should  no  one 
care  about  winning  you  ?  You  are  still  a  very 
pretty  and  charming  little  woman ;  your  eyes  still 
flash  so  irresistibly,  your  lips  are  still  so  red  and 
full,  and—" 

"And  my  hair  is  beautifully  gray,"  she  in- 
terrupted him,  laughing,  "  and  I  am  so  astonish- 
ingly young,  scarcely  fifty  years  of  age  ! " 

"  Well,  that  is  not  so  very  old,"  said  Blucher, 
merrily.  "  I  have  read  somewhere  a  story  about 
one  Ulysses,  who,  in  times  gone  by,  was  a  very 
famous  and  shrewd  captain.  He  set  out  to  wage 
war  with  the  barbarians,  and  his  wife,  whose 
name  was  Penelope,  remained  at  home  with  his 
son  Telemachus.  Ulysses  was  absent  for  twenty 
long  years,  and  when  he  returned  home  he  found 
fifty  suitors  who  were  all  courting  bis  beautifnl 
wife  Penelope.  Do  you  see,  fifty  suitors,  one  for 
every  year  of  Penelope's  age,  for  she  must  have 
been  well-nigh  fifty  years  old  when  Ulysses  re- 
turned, and  yet  she  was  still  beautiful,  and  men 
were  gallanting  about  her.  Why  should  not  the 
same  thing  happen  to  you,  as  you  are  scarcely 
forty-eight?  And  who  knows  whether  the  wife 
of  Ulysses  was  as  beautiful  and  good  as  you  ?  I 
am  sure  she  was  not.  For  it  seems  to  me  you 
are  the  dearest  and  best  little  woman,  and  look 
precisely  as  you  did  twenty  years  ago,  when  you 


were  foolish  enough  to  marry  that  rough  old  sol 
dier  Blucher,  who  was  already  fifty  years  of  age." 

"  Woll      that   «raa  -nr\t     an   -crn-nir   fnnMaVt  "    anU    TU"« 


Well,  that  was  not  so  very  foolish,"  said  Ma 
dame  von  Blucher,  smiling  ;  "  on  the  contrary,  it 
was  very  well  done,  and  but  for  those  abomina- 
ble playing-cards,  nothing  could  be  better." 

"  Ah,  the  shrewd  little  general  has,  by  an 
adroit  movement,  brought  us  back  to  the  old 
battle-ground,"  exclaimed  Blucher.  "We  have 
arrived  again  at  last  night's  faro  !  Now,  tell  me 
first  of  all — did  I  guess  right  ?  Were  you  not 
angry  with  me  because  I  returned  late  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  his  wife,  "  that  was  the  reason." 

"  Hurrah  !  Just  as  I  thought ! "  shouted  Blu- 
cher, jubilantly.  "  Now,  quick,  pay  me  for  my 
correct  guess !  You  know,  you  were  to  give  me 
a  kiss ! — a  kiss  such  as  you  used  to  give  me 
twenty  years  ago ! "  He  encircled  his  wife  with 
his  arms,  and  pressed  a  long  and  tender  kiss  on 
her  lips. 

"  Well,  are  you  pacified  now  ?  "  he  then  asked, 
"  I  see  in  your  eyes  that  you  are,  and  now,  come, 
I  will  (ell  you  all  that  occurred  last  night.  You 
see  the  money  is  gone,  and  what  matters  it! 
Money  is  destined  to  be  spent ;  that  is  what  the 
good  Lord  gave  it  to  us  for,  and  men  made  it 
round  that  it  might  roll  away  more  rapidly.  It' 
it  were  to  remain,  they  would  have  made  it  square, 
when  the  fingers  could  hold  it  better.  And,  then, 
why  should  I  hold  it  ?  We  have  enough — more 
than  enough  ;  our  two  daughters  are  married  to 
rich  men ;  our  two  sons  are  provided  for ;  our 
estate  at  Kunzendorf  will  not  roll  away,  for  it  is 
not  round  and  brings  us  lots  of  money,  and  I  am 
sure  there  will  be  a  day  when  I  shall  win  very 
large  sums.  I  do  not  mean  at  the  gaming-table, 
Amelia,  but  on  the  battle-field.  I  shall  recon- 
quer to  the  king  his  cities  and  provinces.  I  shall 
take  from  Bonaparte  all  that  he  has  stolen  from 
Prussia;  I—" 

"  You  intended  to  tell  me  what  occurred  last 
night,"  interrupted  his  wife,  who  heard  him,  to 
her  dismay,  beginning  again  the  philippic  against 
Napoleon  which  he  had  repeated  to  her  at  least  a 
hundred  times. 

'Yes,  that  is  true,"  said  Blucher    breathing 


GEBHARD  LEBERECHT  BLUCHER. 


: 


deeply,  "  I  wished  to  tell  you  about  Major  von 
Leesten.  At  the  '  Ressource '  I  met  yesterday  in 
the  afternoon  an  old  friend  of  his,  who  told  me 
how  sad  and  unhappy  Leesten  was.  His  eldest 
daughter  is  betrothed  to  a  young  country  gentle- 
loan  :  the  two  young  folks  would  like  to  marry, 
out  they  have  no  money.  If  the  young  man  had 
only  a  thousand  dollars,  he  might  rent  an  estate 
in  this  vicinity ;  but,  in  order  to  do  so,  he  must 
give  a  thousand  dollars  security,  and  he  is  not 
possessed  of  that  sum.  Leesteu's  friend  told  me 
all  this,  and  also  how  disheartened  Leesten  was. 
He  said  he  had  gone  to  all  sorts  of  usurers,  but 
no  one  would  lend  him  any  thing,  because  he 
could  not  furnish  security,  for  he  has  nothing  but 
his  pension." 

"  Poor  man  !  And  could  not  hi.s  friends  col- 
lect the  amount  and  give  it  to  him  ?  " 

"  His  friends  have  not  any  thing  either !  Who 
has  any  thing?  Every  one  is  poor  since  the 
accursed  French  are  in  the  country,  and  Bona- 
parte—" 

"  You  forget  again  your  story  of  Major  von 
Leesten,  my  friend." 

"  Ob,  yes.  His  friends  have  not  any  thing 
either,  and  even  if  they  had,  Leesten  would  not 
accept  presents.  No,  believe  me,  Amelia,  when 
the  poor  are  exceedingly  proud,  they  would  die  of 
hunger  sooner  than  accept  alms  at  the  banus  of  a 
pood  friend,  or  ask  him  for  a  slice  of  bread  and 
butter.  I  know  all  about  it,  for  I  was  poor,  too, 
and  starved  when  my  pay  was  spent.  And  Lees- 
ten is  proud  also ;  alms  and  presents  he  would 
not  accept,  or  if  he  did,  for  the  sake  of  his  daugh- 
ter, his  heart  would  burst  with  grief.  That  was 
what  his  friend  told  me ;  I  pitied  him,  and  thought 
I  should  like  to  call  on  the  dear  major  and  shake 
hands  with  him,  that  he  might  feel  that  I  like  him, 
and  that  he  ha<  trirn-ls,  how  poor  soevrr  he  may 

.  Well,  I  went  with  his  friend  to  the  major, 
was  glad  to  see  us  and  took  pains  to  be 
merry,  but  I  saw  very  well  that  he  was  sad  ; 
that  his  laughter  was  not  genuine,  and  that,  as 
soon  as  some  one  else  spoke,  he  grew  gloomy. 
But  I  did  not  ask  what  ailed  him  ;  I  feigned 
not  to  see  any  thing,  and  begged  him  to  accom- 


pany us  and  spend  a  pleasant  evening  with  a  few 
friends.  He  refused  at  first  to  do  so,  but  I  suc- 
ceeded in  overcoming  his  resistance,  and  I  am 
not  sorry  by  any  means  that  I  did,  for  the  poor 
major  grew  quite  cheerful  at  last ;  he  forgot  his 
grief,  drank  some  good  wine  with  us, — more,  per- 
haps, than  he  had  drunk  for  a  year,  and  then 
played  a  little  faro  with  us  for  the  first  time  in 
his  life.  Well,  we  were  all  in  the  best  spirits, 
and  that  was  the  reason  why  I  remained  so 
long  and  came  home  so  late.  It  was  Major 
von  Leesten's  fault,  and  now  my  story  is  at  an 
end!" 

"No,  it  is  not!"  exclaimed  Amelia,  "You 
have  not  yet  told  me  every  thing,  Blucher.  You 
have  not  told  me  who  won  your  two  hundred 
louis  d'ors  for  which  you  intended  to  purchase 
four  new  carriage-horses  ?  " 

"Yes,  that  was  curious,"  said  Blucher,  com- 
posedly, stroking  his  long  white  mustache — "  that 
was  really  curious.  Leesten  had  never  before 
handled  a  card  ;  he  did  not  know  the  game,  and 
-yet  he  won  from  such  un  old  gambler  as  I  am 
two  hundred  louis  d'ors  in  the  course  of  a  few 
hours.  Leesten  won  the  money  that  was  to  pay 
for  the  carriage-horses,  and  you  may  give  him 
thanks  for  being  compelled  to  drive  for  six  months 
longer  with  our  lame  old  mares." 

A  sunbeam,  as  it  were,  illuminated  Amelia's 
countenance;  her  eyes  shone,  and  her  cheeks 
were  glowing  with  joy.  Quickly  putting  her 
hands  on  Blucher's  shoulders,  she  looked  up  to 
him  with  a  smile.  "You  made  him  win  the 
money,  Gebhard,"  she  said,  in  a  voice  tremulous 
with  emotion.  "  Oh,  do  not  shake  your  head- 
tell  me  the  truth !  You  made  Leesten  win,  be- 
cause you  wished  to  preserve  him  from  the  neces- 
sity of  accepting  alms.  You  made  him  win,  that 
his  daughter  might  marry  ?  " 

N  onsense ! "  said  Blucher,  growliugly,  "  how 
could  I  make  him  win  when  he  did  not  really  win  ? 
He  would  have  found  it  out,  and,  besides,  I  would 
have  been  a  cheat." 

"  He  did  not  find  it  out  because  you  made  him 
drink  so  much  wine,  and  because  he  knows  noth- 
ing  about  the  game ;  and  you  are  no  cheat,  be 


58 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


cause  you  intentionally  made  him  win  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, you  are  a  noble,  magnanimous  man  whom 
Heaven  must  love.  Oh,  dear,  dearest  husband, 
tell  me  the  truth ;  let  me  enjoy  the  happiness  that 
I  have  guessed  right !  You  did  so  intentionally, 
did  you  not  ?  The  cards  did  not  bring  so  much 
good  luck  to  Leesten,  but  Blucher  did  !  " 

"  Hush !  do  not  say  that  so  loudly,"  exclaimed 
Blucher,  looking  anxiously  around ;  "  if  any  one 
should  hear  and  repeat  it,  and  Leesten  should 
find  out  how  the  thing  occurred,  the  fellow  would 
return  the  money  to  me." 

"Ah,  now  you  have  betrayed  yourself — you 
have  confessed  that  you  lost  the  money  intention- 
ally," exclaimed  Amelia,  jubilantly.  "  Oh,  thanks, 
thanks,  my  noble  and  generous  friend!"  She 
took  his  hands  with  passionate  tenderness,  and 
pressed  them  to  her  lips. 

"  But,  Amelia,  what  are  you  doing  ? "  said 
Blucher,  withdrawing  his  hands  in  confusion. 
"  Why,  you  are  weeping  ! " 

"Oh,  they  are  tears  of  joy,"  she  said,  nodding 
to  him  with  a  blissful  smile — "  tears  which  I  am 
weeping  for  my  glorious,  dear  Blucher !  " 

"  Oh,  you  are  too  good,"  said  Blucher,  whose 
face  suddenly  grew  gloomy.  "  I  am  nothing  but 
an  old,  pensioned  soldier — a  rusty  sword  flung 
into  a  corner.  I  am  an  invalid  whom  they  be- 
lieve to  be  childish,  because  he  thinks  he  might 
still  be  useful,  and  the  fatherland  might  need 
him.  But  I  tell  you,  Amelia,  if  I  ever  should 
become  childish  it  would  be  on  account  of  the 
course  pursued  toward  me ;  why,  I  am  dismissed 
from  the  service ;  I  am  refused  any  thing  to  do ; 
I  am  desired  to  be  idle,  and  the  king  has  given 
me  this  accursed  estate  of  Kunzendorf,  not  as  a 
reward,  nor  from  love,  but  to  get  rid  of  me,  and 
because  he  is  afraid  of  the  French.  When  he 
gave  it  to  me  last  spring,  he  wrote  that  I  ought 
to  set  out  for  Kunzendorf  immediately,  and  live 
and  remain  there,  as  it  behooved  every  nobleman, 
in  the  midst  of  my  peasants.  But  his  real  object 
was  to  send  me  into  exile ;  he  did  not  wish  me 
to  remain  in  Berlin ! " 

"  Well,  he  had  to  comply  with  the  urgent  rec- 
ommendations of  bis  ministers,"  said  Madame 


von  Blucher,  smiling.  "  You  know  very  well 
that  all  the  ministers  of  the  king,  with  the  sole 
exception  of  Hardenberg,  are  friends  of  the 
French,  and  think  that  Prussia  would  be  lost  if 
she  should  not  faithfully  stand  by  France." 

"They  are  traitors  when  they  entertain  such 
infamous  sentiments,"  cried  Blucher,  wildly 
stamping  with  his  foot ;  "  they  should  hang  the 
fellows  who  are  so  mean  and  cowardly  as  to  think 
that  Prussia  would  be  lost  if  her  mortal  enemy 
did  not  condescend  to  sustain  her.  Ah,  if  the 
king  had  listened  to  me  only  once,  we  should 
have  long  since  driven  the  French  out  of  the 
country,  and  our  poor  soldiers  would  not  freeze 
to  death  in  Russia  as  auxiliaries  of  Bonaparte. 
When  the  danger  is  greatest,  every  thing  must 
be  risked  in  order  to  win  every  thing,  and  when 
a  fellow  tries  to  deceive  and  insult  me,  I  do  not 
consider  much  whether  I  had  better  endure  him 
because  I  may  be  weaker  than  he  is,  but,  before 
he  suspects  it,  I  knock  him  down  if  I  can.  You 
see,  that  is  defending  one's  life ;  that  is  what  the 
learned  call  philosophy.  But,  dearest  Amelia, 
there  is  but  one  philosophy  in  life,  and  it  is  this : 
'  He  who  trusts  in  God  and  defends  himself 
bravely  will  never  miserably  perish.'  Now,  the 
king  and  his  ministers  know  only  one-half  of  this 
philosophy,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  the  whole 
thing  goes  wrong.  They  mean  to  trust  in  God, 
even  though,  from  their  blind  trust  alone,  all 
Prussia  fall  to  ruins ;  but  as  for  bravely  defend- 
ing themselves,  that  is  what  they  do  not  under- 
stand. It  is  too  much  like  old  Blucher's  way  of 
doing  things,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  the 
learned  gentlemen  do  not  like  it.  Ah !  Amelia, 
when  I  think  of  all  the  wretchedness  of  Prussia, 
and  that  I  may  have  to  die  without  having 
chastised  Bonaparte — without  having  wrested 
from  him,  and  flung  into  his  face,  the  laurels  of 
Jena,  Eylau,  and  Friedland — ah,  then  I  feel  like 
sitting  down  and  crying  like  a  boy.  But  Heaven 
cannot  be  so  cruel ;  it  will  not  let  me  die  before 
meeting  Bonaparte  on  the  field  of  battle,  and 
avenging  all  our  wrongs  upon  him.  No,  I  trust  I 
will  not  die  before  that — and,  after  all,  I  am  quite 
young  !  Only  seventy  years  of  age !  My  grand 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   MECKLENBURG. 


59 


lather  died  in  his  ninetieth  year,  and  my  mother 
told  me  often  enough  that  I  looked  exactly  like 
my  grandfather;  I  shall,  therefore,  reach  my 
ninetieth  year.  I  have  still  twenty  years  to  live 
— twenty  years,  that  is  enough — "  Just  then 
the  door  opeued,  and  a  footman  entered. 

"Well,  John,"  asked  Blucher,  "what  is  it? 
Why  do  you  look  so  merry,  my  boy  ?  I  suppose 
you  have  good  news  for  us,  have  you  not  ?  " 

"I  have,  your  excellency,"  said  the  footman. 
"  There  is  an  old  man  outside,  an  invalid,  at- 
tended by  a  young  fellow  who,  I  believe,  is  his 
son.  The  two  have  come  all  the  way  from  Pome- 
rauia,  and  want  to  see  General  von  Blucher.  He 
says  he  has  important  news  for  your  excellency." 

"  Important  news  ?  "  asked  Blucher.  "  And  he 
comes  from  Pomerania?  John,  I  hope  it  will 
not  be  one  who  wants  to  tell  me  the  same  old 
story  ?  " 

"Your  excellency,  I  believe  that  is  what  he 
comes  for,"  said  John,  grinning. 

"Amelia,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  bursting  into 
loud  laughter,  "  there  is  another  fellow  who  wants 
to  tell  me  that  he  took  me  prisoner  fifty  years 
since.  I  believe  it  is  already  the  seventh  rascal 
who  says  he  was  the  man." 

"  The  seventh  who  wants  to  get  money  from 
you  and  swindle  you,"  said  Madame  von  Blucher, 
smiling. 

"  No,  I  believe  they  do  not  exactly  want  to 
swindle  me,"  said  Blucher,  "  but  I  know  they 
like  to  get  a  little  money,  and  as  they  do  not 
want  to  beg — " 

"They  come  and  lie,"  interrupted  Amelia, 
umiling.  "  They  know  already  that  General 
Blucher  gives  a  few  louis  d'ors  to  every  one  who 
come*  and  says,  '  General,  it  was  I  who  took  you 
prisoner  in  Mecklenburg  in  1760,  and  brought 
you  to  the  Prussians.  You,  therefore,  are  in- 
debted to  me  for  all  your  glory  and  your 


" 


"  Yes,  it  is  true,"  said  Blucher,  laughing  and 
smoothing  his  mustache.  "  That  is  what  all  six 
of  them  said.  But  one  of  them  did  take  me  pris- 
oner, for  the  story  is  true,  and  if  I  turn  away  one 
of  those  who  tell  me  the  same  thing,  why,  I  might 


happen  to  hit  precisely  the  man  who  took  me, 
and  that  would  be  a  great  shame.  Therefore,  it 
is  better  I  imagine  a  whole  squadron  had  taken 
me  at  that  time,  and  give  money  to  every  one 
who  comes  to  me  for  it.  Even  though  he  may 
not  be  the  man,  why,  he  is  at  least  an  old  hussar, 
and  I  shall  never  turn  an  old  hussar  without  a 
little  present  from  my  door."  * 

"  Well,  I  see  you  want  to  bid  welcome  to  youi 
seventh  hero  and  conqueror,"  said  Amelia,  smi- 
ling. "  Very  well,  I  will  quit  the  field  and  retire 
into  my  cabinet.  Farewell,  my  friend,  and  when 
your  hero  has  taken  leave  of  you,  I  will  await 
you."  She  nodded  pleasantly  to  her  husband, 
and  left  the  room. 

"  Well,  John,"  said  Blucher,  sitting  down  again 
on  his  easy-chair  at  the  window,  "  now  let  the 
men  come  in.  Bat  first  fill  me  a  pipe.  You 
must  take  a  new  one,  for  I  broke  the  one  I  waa 
smoking  this  morning." 

John  hastened  to  the  elegant  "  pipe-board " 
which  stood  beside  the  fireplace,  and  took  from 
it  an  oblong,  plain  wooden  box ;  opening  the  lid, 
he  drew  a  new,  long  clay  pipe  from  it. 

"  How  many  pipes  are  in  it  yet  ?  "  asked  Blu- 
cher, hastily.  "  A  good  lot,  John  ?  " 

"  No,  your  excellency,  only  seven  whole  pipes, 
and  eight  broken  ones." 

"  You  may  ride  to  Neisse  to-morrow,  and  buy 
a  box  of  pipes.  Now,  give  me  one,  and  let  the 
hussar  and  his  son  come  in." 


CHAPTER   X. 

RECOLLECTIONS   OF   MECKLENBURG. 

JOHN,  the  footman,  opened  the  door  of  the 
anteroom,  and  shouted  in  a  loud  and  solemn 
voice,  "  Your  excellency,  here  is  Hennemann,  the 
hussar,  and  his  son  Christian  ! " 

"  Well,  come  in ! "  said  Blucher,  good-naturedly 
puffing  a  cloud  of  smoke  from  his  pipe. 


*  Blucher's  own  words.— Vide  "Life  of  Prince  Bluchel 
of  Wahlstatt,  by  Varhagon  von  Ense,"  p.  8. 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


An  old  man  with  silver-white  hair,  his  bent  | 
form  clad  in  the  old  and  faded  uniform  of  a  hus- 
Bar,  and  holding  his  old-fashioned  shako  in  his 
hand,  entered  the  room.  He  was  followed  by  a 
young  man,  wearing  the  costume  of  a,  North- 
German  farmer,  his  heavy  yellow  hair  combed 
backward  and  fastened  with  a  large  uund  comb; 
his  full,  vigorous  form  dressed  in  a  long  blue  cloth 
coat,  reaching  down  almost  to  his  feet,  and  lined 
with  white  flannel ;  under  it  he  wore  trousers  of 
dark-green  velvet  that  descended  only  to  the 
knees,  and  joined  there  the  blue-and-red  stock- 
ings in  which  his  legs  were  encased ;  his  feet 
were  armed  with  thick  shoes,  adorned  with  buck- 
les, while  their  soles  bristled  with  large  nails. 

"  Where  do  you  come  from  ?  "  asked  Blucher, 
fixing  his  eyes  with  a  kind  expression  on  the  two 
men. 

"  From  Rostock,  your  excellency,"  said  the  old 
man,  making  a  respectful  obeisance. 

"From  Rostock?"  asked  Blucher,  joyously. 
"  Why,  that  is  my  native  city." 

"  I  know  that  very  well,  general,"  said  the  old 
hussar,  who  vainly  tried  to  hide  his  Low-German 
accent.  "  All  Rostock  knows  it,  too,  and  every  child 
there  boasts  of  Blucher  being  our  countryman." 

"  Well,"  said  Blucher,  smiling,  "  then  you  come 
from  Rostock.  Do  you  li ve  there  ?  " 

"  Not  exactly  in  Rostock,  your  excellency.  My 
daughter  Frederica  is  married  to  a  tailor  in  Ros- 
tock, and  I  was  with  her  for  four  weeks.  I  myself 
live  at  Polchow,  a  nobleman's  estate  four  miles 
from  Rostock ;  I  am  there  at  the  house  of  my 
eldest  son." 

"  Is  that  your  eldest  son  ?  "  asked  Blucher, 
pointing  with  his  clay  pipe  at  the  young  man, 
who  stood  by  the  side  of  his  aged  father,  and  was 
turning  his  hat  hi  his  hand  in  an  embarrassed 
manner. 

"  No,  sir,  he  is  my  youngest  son,  and  it  is  just 
for  hid  sake  that  I  have  come  to  you.  Christian 
was  a  laborer  in  the  service  of  our  nobleman  at 
Polchow,  and  he  desired  to  marry  a  girl  with 
whom  he  had  fallen  in  love.  But  the  nobleman 
would  not  permit  it;  he  said  Christian  should 
wait  some  ten  years  until  there  was  a  house  va- 


cant in  the  village,  and  some  of  the  old  peasants 
had  died.  This  drove  him  to  despair;  be  wanted 
to  commit  suicide,  and  said  he  would  die  rather 
than  be  a  day  laborer  on  an  estate  in  Mecklen- 
burg, which  is  no  better  than  being  the  noble- 
man's slave." 

"Yes,"  cried  Christian,  indignantly,  "that  is 
true,  general.  A  day  kborer  on  an  estate  in 
Mecklenburg  is  a  slave,  that  is  all.  The  noble- 
man owns  him.  It  he  wants  to  do  so,  he  may  dis- 
able him,  nay,  he  may  kill  him.  Such  a  laborer 
has  no  rights,  no  will,  no  property,  no  home,  no 
country  ;  he  is  not  allowed  to  live  anywhere  but 
in  his  village ;  he  cannot  settle  in  any  other  place, 
and  is  not  permitted  to  marry  unless  the  noble- 
man who  owns  the  village  gives  his  consent,  nor 
can  he  ever  be  any  thing  else  than  what  his  father 
and  grandfather  were,  that  is  to  say,  the  noble- 
man's laborers.  And  I  do  not  wish  to  be  such 
and  do  nothing  else  than  putting  the  horses  to  the 
plough.  I  want  to  marry  Frederica,  and  become 
a  free  man,  and  if  that  cannot  be  I  will  commit 
suicide." 

"  Ahem !  he  has  young  blood,"  said  Blucher, 
well  pleased  and  smiling,  "  fresh  Mecklenburgian 
blood.  I  like  that!  But  you  must  not  abuse 
Mecklenburg,  Christian ;  I  love  Mecklenburg,  be- 
cause it  is  my  native  country." 

"  It  is  a  good  country  for  noblemen  who  have 
money,"  said  Christian,  "but  for  day  laborers 
who  have  none  it  is  a  poor  country.  And  that 
was  the  reason  why  I  said  to  the  old  man,  *  Vat- 
ting,  *  I  shall  commit  suicide  or  run  away  and 
enlist.' " 

"  And  I  then  said,  '  Well,  my  son,  in  that  case 
it  will  be  better  for  you  to  enlist,'  added  the  old 
man,  'and,  moreover,  you  shall  enlist  under  a 
good  general.  I  will  show  you  that  my  life  is  yet 
good  for  something ;  I  will  do  for  your  sake  what 
I  have  purposed  to  do  all  my  lifetime :  I  will  gc 
to  General  Blucher,  tell  him  who  I  am,  and  ask 
him  to  reward  my  boy  for  what  I  did  for  him.' " 

Blucher  looked  with  a  good-natured  smile  at 
the  poor  old  man  who  stood  before  him  in  the 

*  "  Vatting,"  Low-German  for  "  papa." 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  MECKLEXBURG. 


GJ 


faded  and  threadbare  uniform  of  a  private  sol- 
dier. 

"  Well,  my  old  friend,"  he  said,  "  what  have 
you  done  for  me,  then  ?  " 

The  old  man  raised  his  nead,  and  a  solemn 
expression  overspread  his  bronzed  and  furrowed 
countenance.  "  General,"  he  said,  gravely,  "  it 
was  I  who  took  you  prisoner  in  Mecklenburg  in 
1760,  and  to  me,  therefore,  you  are  indebted  for 
all  your  glory  and  happiness." 

Blucher  covered  his  face  with  his  hands,  that 
the  old  man  might  not  see  his  smile.  "  It  is  just 
as  Amelia  told  me  it  would  be,"  he  said  to  him- 
self. He  then  added  aloud :  "  Well,  tell  me  the 
story,  that  I  may  see  whether  it  was  reallv  you 
who  took  me  prisoner." 

"  It  is  a  long  story,"  said  the  old  man,  sighing, 
"  and  if  I  am  to  tell  it,  I  must  ask  a  favor  of  your 
excellency." 

"Well,  what  is  it?  Speak,  my  old  friend," 
said  Blucher,  puffing  a  cloud  from  his  pipe,  and 
satisfied  that  the  old  hussar  would  apply  to  him 
for  money. 

"  I  must  beg  leave  to  sit  down,  general,"  said 
the  old  man,  timidly.  "  We  have  come  on  foot 
all  the  way  from  Rostock,  and  it  is  only  fifteen 
minutes  since  we  reached  this  village.  We  took 
only  time  enough  at  the  tavern  to  change  our 
dress ;  I  put  on  my  uniform,  and  Christian  put 
on  his  Sunday  coat.  I  am  eighty  years  old,  gen- 
eral, and  my  logs  are  not  as  strong  as  Liey  used 
to  he." 

"Eighty  years  old  !  "  exclaimed  Blucher,  jump- 
ing up,  "  eighty  years  old,  and  you  have  come  on 
foot  all  tin-  way  from  Rostock  !  Why,  that  is  im- 
possible !  Christian,  tell  me,  that  cannot  be  true !  " 
-encral,  it  is  true.  We  have  been  on 
way  f'.r  three  weeks  past,  for  the  old  man 
cannot  walk  very  fast,  and  we  had  not  money 
enough  to  ride.  We  had  to  be  thankful  for  hav- 
ing enough  to  pay  for  our  beds  at  the  t*T< 
And  my  father  is  more  than  eighty  years  of 
age!  We  have  brought  his  certificate  of  birth 
with  us." 

"  Eighty  years  of  age,  and  he  came  on  foot  all 
the  way  from  Rostock,  and  I  allow  the  old  rain 


to  stand  and  offer  him  no  chair ! "  exclaimed 
Blucher, — "  I  do  not  aek  whether  he  is  hun- 
gry and  thirsty  !  John  !  John  ! "  And  Blucher 
rushed  to  the  bell-rope  and  rang  the  bell  so  vio- 
lently that  John  entered  the  room  in  great  ex- 
citement. "  John,  quick  ! "  shouted  Blucher. 
"  Quick,  a  bottle  of  wine,  two  glasses,  and  bread, 
butter,  and  ham  ;  and  tell  them  in  the  kitchen 
to  prepare  a  good  dinner  for  these  men,  and 
have  a  room  with  two  beds  made  ready  for  them 
in  the  adjoining  house.  Quick,  John !  In  five 
minutes  the  wine  and  the  other  things  must  be 
here!  Run!" 

John  hastened  out  of  the  room,  and  Blucher 
approached  the  old  man,  who  looked  on,  speech- 
less and  deeply  moved  by  the  kind  zeal  the  gen 
eral  had  displayed  in  his  behalf. 

"  Come,  my  dear  friend,"  said  Blucher,  kindly, 
taking  him  by  the  hand  and  conducting  him 
across  the  room  to  his  favorite  seat  at  the  win- 
dow. "There,  sit  down  on  my  easy-chair  and 
rest." 

"  No,  general,  no  ;  that  would  be  disrespect- 
ful ! " 

"  Fiddlesticks ! "  replied  Blucher;  "  an  octogena- 
rian is  entitled  to  more  respect  than  a  gener- 
al's epaulets  are.  Now  do  not  refuse,  but  sit 
down  ! "  And  with  his  vigorous  arras  he  pressed 
him  into  the  easy-chair.  He  then  quietly  took 
his  clay  pipe  from  the  window,  and  sat  down  on 
a  cane  chair  opposite  the  old  hussar.  "  And  now 
tell  me  the  story  of  my  arrest  as  a  prisoner.  I 
promise  you  that  I  will  believe  it  all." 

"  General,  you  may  believe  nothing  but  what  is 
true,"  replied  the  old  man,  solemnly. 

Blucher  nodded.  "  Commence,"  he  said,  "  but 
no — wait  a  while  !  There  is  John  with  the  win* 
and  the  bread  and  butter.  Now  eat  and  drink 
first." 

"  I  cannot  eat,  for  I  am  not  hungry.  But,  if 
•  •neral  will  permit  me,  I  will  drink  a  glass 
of  wine." 

"  Come,  John,  two  glasses  !— fill  them  to  the 
brim  !  And  now,  my  friend,  let  us  drink.  Here's 
to  our  native  country  ! "  Blucher  filled  his  glass 
^vith  claret ;  his  eyes  flashed,  and  his  face  kin- 


62 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


died  with  the  fire  of  youth,  when  he,  the  young 
septuagenarian,  touched  with  his  glass  that  of  the 
feeble  octogenarian.  "  Hurrah,  my  old  country- 
man," he  shouted,  jubilantly,  "  long  live  Meck- 
lenburg !  long  live  Rostock  and  the  shore  of  the 
Baltic !  Now  empty  your  glass,  my  friend,  and 
you,  John,  fill  it  again,  and  then  put  the  wine 
and  the  bread  and  butter  on  the  table  beside  the 
fireplace,  that  Christian  may  help  himself.  Eat 
and  drink,  Christian,  but  do  not  stir,  or  say  a. 
word,  for  we  two  old  ones  have  to  speak  with 
each  other.  Now  tell  me  the  story,  my  old 
friend ! " 

"  Well,"  said  the  old  man,  putting  down  his 
empty  glass,  "  I  had  run  away  from  my  parents 
because  I  was  just  in  the  same  difficulty  as  Chris- 
tian :  I  did  not  wish  to  remain  a  day  laborer.  I 
also  wanted  to  marry,  and  the  nobleman  would 
not  let  me.  Well,  I  ran  away,  and  enlisted  in 
Old  Fritz's  army,  in  Colonel  Selling's  regiment 
of  hussars.  It  was  in  1760;  we  had  a  great  deal 
to  do  at  that  time  ;  we  were  every  day  skirmish- 
ing with  the  Swedes,  for  we  were  stationed  in 
Mecklenburg,  and  the  Swedes  were  so  dreadfully 
bold  as  to  make  raids  throughout  Brandenburg 
and  Mecklenburg.  One  day,  I  believe  it  was  in 
August,  1760,  just  when  we,  Selling's  hussars,  oc- 
cupied the  towpath  close  to  Friedland  in  Meck- 
lenburg, another  detachment  of  Swedish  hussars 
approached  to  harass  us.  They  were  headed  by 
a  little  ensign — a  handsome  young  lad,  scarcely 
twenty  years  of  age,  a  very  impertinent  baby  ! 
And  this  young  rascal  rode  closely  to  the  old 
hussars,  and  commenced  to  crow  in  his  sweet 
little  voice,  abusing  us,  and  told  us  at  last,  if  we 
were  courageous  enough,  to  come  on  ;  he  had  not 
had  his  breakfast,  he  said,  and  would  like  to  swal- 
low about  a  dozen  of  Selling's  hussars.  Well, 
the  other  hussars  rejoiced  in  the  pluck  of  the 
young  fellow,  and  a  handsome  lad  he  was,  with 
clear  blue  eyes  and  red  cheeks.  But  his  saucy 
taunts  iritated  me,  and  when  the  little  ensign 
continued  laughing,  and  telling  us  we  were  cow- 
ards, I  became  very  angry,  galloped  up  to  him 
and  shouted :  '  Now,  you  little  imp,  I  will  kill 
you!'" 


"  Sure  enough,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  in  surprise, 
"  that  was  what  the  hussar  shouted.  It  seems 
to  me  as  though  I  hear  it  still  sounding  in  my 
ears.  But  none  of  the  other  hussars  told  me 
this ;  it  is  new,  and  it  is  true.  Hennemann, 
could  it  be  possible  that  you  should  really  be  the 
man  who  took  me  prisoner  at  that  time  ?  " 

"Listen  to  the  remainder  of  my  story,  gen- 
eral, and  you  will  soon  find  out  whether  it  was  I 
or  not.  I  galloped  up  to  him,  and  while  the 
Prussians  and  Swedes  were  fighting,  I  fixed  my 
eyes  on  my  merry  little  ensign  ;  when  I  was  quite 
close  to  him,  I  shot  down  his  horse.  The  ensign 
was  unable  then  to  offer  much  resistance,  and, 
besides,  I  was  a  very  strong,  active  man.  I  took 
him  by  the  collar  and  put  him  on  my  horse  in 
front  of  me." 

"And  the  ensign  submitted  to  that  without  de- 
fending himself?"  asked  Blucher,  angrily. 

"  By  no  means !  On  the  contrary,  he  was  as 
red  in  the  face  as  a  crawfish,  and  resisting  struck 
me.  I  held  his  arms  fast,  but  he  disengaged 
himself  with  so  violent  a  jerk  that  the  yellow 
facings  of  his  right  sleeve  remained  in  my  hand." 

"  That  is  true,"  exclaimed  Blucher. 

"  Yes,  it  is  true,"  said  the  old  man,  calmly ; 
"  but  it  is  true  also  that  I  got  hold  again  of  the 
ensign  and  took  him  to  Colonel  von  Belling,  to 
whom  I  stated  that  I  had  captured  the  handsome 
lad.  The  colonel  liked  his  face  and  courageous 
bearing ;  he  kept  the  Swedish  ensign  at  his  head- 
quarters, where  he  appointed  him  cornet  the  next 
day,  and  made  the  little  Ensign  Blucher  apply 
to  the  Swedes  for  permission  to  quit  their  ser- 
vice." 

"  And  I  got  my  discharge,"  exclaimed  Blucher, 
quite  absorbed  in  his  reminiscences,  "and  be- 
came a  Prussian  soldier.  Good,  brave  Colonel 
Belling  bought  me  the  necessary  equipment,  and 
appointed  me  his  aide-de-camp  and  lieutenant. 
The  Lord  have  mercy  on  his  dear  soul !  Belling 
was  an  excellent  man,  and  I  am  indebted  to  him 
for  all  I  am." 

"  No,  general,"  said  Hennemann,  "  it  is  to  me 
that  you  are  indebted,  for  if  I  had  not  taken  you 
prisoner  at  that  time — " 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  MECKLENBURG. 


03 


"Sure  enough,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  laughing, 
*  if  you  had  not  taken  me  prisoner,  I  should  now 
be  a  poor  old  pensioned  Swedish  veteran.  But 
you  certainly  took  me  prisoner,  I  really  believe 
you  did!" 

"  I  have  the  proofs  that  I  did,"  said  the  old 
man  solemnly.  "  Christian  ! " 

"  Here  I  am,  vatting,"  said  Christian,  rising. 
"  What  do  you  want  ?  " 

"Give  me  the  memorandum-book  with  the 
papers." 

Christian  drew  from  his  blue  coat  a  red  mo- 
rocco memorandum-book  and  handed  it  to  his 
father.  "  Here,  vatting,"  he  said,  "  every  thing 
is  in  it,  the  certificate  of  birth,  the  enlistment  pa- 
per, the  discharge,  and  the  other  thing." 

"  I  just  want  to  get  the  other  thing,"  said  the 
old  man,  opening  the  memorandum-book,  "  and 
here  it  is!"  He  took  out  a  yellow  piece  of 
cloth  and  handed  it  to  Blucher. 

"  It  is  a  piece  of  my  sleeve ! "  exclaimed 
Blucher,  joyously,  holding  up  the  piece  of  cloth. 
"  Yes,  Hennemann,  it  was  really  you  who  took 
me  prisoner,  and  I  am  indebted  to  you  for  being 
a  Prussian  general  to-day !  And  I  promise  you 
that  I  will  now  pay  you  a  good  ransom.  Give 
me  your  hand,  old  fellow ;  we  ought  to  remain 
near  each  other.  Fifty-two  years  since  you  took 
me  prisoner,  but  now  I  take  you  prisoner  in  turn, 
and  you  must  remain  with  me ;  you  shall  live  at 
ease,  and  at  times  in  the  evening  you  must  tell 
me  of  Mecklenburg,  and  how  it  looks  there, 
and  of  Rostock,  and — well,  and  when  you  are  in 
good  spirits,  you  must  sing  to  me  a  Low-German 
song ! " 

"  Mercy ! "  exclaimed  the  old  man,  in  dismay ; 
"I  cannot  sing,  general.  I  am  eighty  years  old, 
and  old  age  has  dried  up  the  fountain  of  my 

"  Sure  enough,  you  are  eighty  years  old,"  said 
Blucher,  puffing  his  pipe,  "  and  at  that  age  few 
persons  are  able  to  sing.  But  I  should  really 
like  to  hear  again  a  merry  native  song.  I  have 
not  heard  one  for  fifty  years,  for  here,  you  see, 
Hennemann,  people  are  so  stupid  and  ignorant  as 
even  to  understand  Low-German." 


not  even  to  un 


"I  believe  that,"  said  the  old  man,  giavely, 
"and  it  is  not  so  easy  to  understand— one  must 
be  a  native  of  Mecklenburg  to  understand  it." 

"It  is  a  pity  that  you  cannot  sing,"  said 
Blucher,  sighing. 

"But,  perhaps  Christian  can,"  said  old  Henne- 
mann. "  Tell  me,  Christian,  can  you  sing  ?  " 

"  Yes,  vatting,"  replied  Christian,  clearing  his 
throat. 

"'Vatting!'"  exclaimed  Blucher.  "What 
does  that  mean  ?  " 

"  Well,  it  means  that  he  loves  his  father,  and 
therefore  calls  him,  in  good  Mecklenburg  style, 
'  vatting.'  " 

"Sure  enough,  I  remember  now,"  exclaimed 
Blucher.  "Vatting!  mutting !  *  Yes,  yes;  I 
have  often  used  these  words,  '  mutting — my  mut- 
ting ! '  Ah,  it  seems  to  me  as  though  I  behold 
the  beautiful  blue  eyes  of  my  mother  when  she 
looked  at  me  so  mildly  and  lovingly  and  said, 
'You  are  a  wild,  reckless  boy,  Gebhard ;  I  am 
afraid  you  will  come  to  grief ! '  Then  I  used  to 
beg  her,  '  My  mutting,  my  mutting !  I  will  no 
longer  be  a  bad  boy  !  I  will  not  be  naughty  !  D< 
not  be  angry  any  more,  my  mutting ! '  And  she 
always  forgave  me,  and  interceded  for  me  with  my 
father,  whenever  he  was  incensed  against  me,  and 
scolded  me,  because,  instead  of  studying  my 
books  and  going  to  school,  I  was  always  loitering 
about  the  fields  or  hunting  in  the  woods.  At 
last,  when  I  was  fourteen  years  old,  and  was  still 
an  incorrigible  scapegrace,  they  sent  me  to  the 
island  of  Riigen,  to  my  sister,  who  was  married 
to  Baron  von  Krackwitz.  But  I  did  not  stay 
there  very  long.  The  Swedes  came  to  the  island, 
and  I  could  not  withstand  the  desire  to  become  a 
soldier;  therefore,  I  ran  away  from  the  island 
and  enlisted  in  the  Swedish  army.  Well,  I  had 
to  do  so,  I  could  not  help  it,  for  it  was  in  my 
nature.  Up  to  that  time  I  was  like  a  fish 
on  dry  land,  moving  his  tail  in  every  direction 
without  crushing  a  fly  ;  when  I  got  into  he  water 
it  was  all  right.  If  I  had  been  kept  much  longer 
out,  I  would  have  died  very  soon,  f  When  I  waa 
now  in  the  water — that  is  to  say,  when  I  was  a 


*  u  Mutting,"  mamma. 


t  Blucaer'B  own  words. 


64 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


soldier,  I  lost  my  mother  ;  I  never  saw  her  again, 
and  know  only  that  she  wept  a  great  deal  for  me. 
And  I  never  was  able  to  beg  her  to  forgive  me, 
and  tell  her,  'Do  not  be  angry,  my  dear  mutting ! ' 
I  was  a  dashing  young  soldier,  and  she  was  weep- 
ing for  me  at  Rostock,  for  she  believed  I  would 
come  to  grief.  Well,  I  was  first  lieutenant  in 
some  Prussian  fortress  when  they  wrote  to  me 
that  my  mother  was  dead.  Yes,  she  had  died  and 
I  was  not  at  her  bedside ;  I  was  never  able  to  say 
to  her  for  the  last  time,  '  Forgive  me,  my  mut- 
ting ! '  But  now  I  say  so  from  the  bottom  of 
my  heart."  While  uttering  these  words,  Blucher 
raised  his  head  and  fixed  his  large  eyes  with  a 
touching  and  childlike  expression  on  the  wintry 
sky. 

Old  Hennemann  devoutly  clasped  his  hands, 
and  tears  ran  slowly  down  his  furrowed  cheeks. 
Christian  stood  at  the  door,  and  dried  his  eyes 
with  his  coat-sleeve. 

"  Thunder  and  lightning,"  suddenly  exclaimed 
Blucher,  "  how  foolish  I  am  !  That  is  the  conse- 
quence of  being  absorbed  in  one's  recollections. 
While  talking  about  Mecklenburg  I  had  really 
forgotten  that  I  am  an  old  boy  of  seventy  years, 
and  thought  I  was  still  the  naughty  young  rascal 
who  longed  to  ask  his  rautting  to  forgive  him ! 
Well,  Christian,  now  sing  us  a  Low-German 
song." 

"  I  know  but  one  song,"  said  Chiistian,  hesi- 
tatingly. "It  is  the  spinning-song  which  my  Fred- 
erica  sang  to  me  in  the  spinning- room." 

"  Well,  sing  your  spinning-song,"  said  Blucher, 
ooking  at  his  pipe,  which  was  going  out. 

Christian  cleared  his  throat,  and  sang : 

Spinn  doch,  spinn  (loch,  min  lutt,  lewes  Ddchtinir, 

Ick  schenk  Di  ock'n  poor  hubeche  Schoh  I 

Ach  Gott,  min  lewes,  lewes  Mutting, 

Wat  belpen  mi  de  hiibschen  Schoh  1 

Kann  danzen  nich,  un  kann  nich  spinncn, 

Denn  alle  mine  teigen  Finger, 

De  dohn  mi  so  weh, 

De  dohn  ml  so  weh ! 

Spinn  doch,  spinn  doch,  min  lutt,  lewes  Df>chtiii2, 

Ick  schenk  Di  ock'n  schdn  Stuck  Geld. 

Ach  Gott,  min  lewes,  lewes  Mutting, 

Ick  wull,  ick  wibr  man  ut  de  Welt, 

Kann  danzen  nich,  un  kann  uich  spinnen, 

Denn  alle  mine  teigen  Finger, 

De  dohn  mi  so  weh, 

De  dohn  mi  so  weh  1 


Spinn  doch,  spinn  doch,  min  lutt,  lewes  Dochting, 

Ick  schenk  Di  ock'n  hiibschen  Mann  I 

Ach  ja,  min  lewes,  lewes  Mutting, 

Schenk  min  lewston,  besten  Mann. 

Kann  danzen  nu,  un  kann  ock  spinnen, 

Denn  alle  mine  teigen  Finger, 

De  dohn  nich  mihr  weh, 

De  dohn  nich  mihr  weh !  * 

"A  very  pretty  song,"  said  Blucher, 
"  And  I  believe  1  heard  the  girls  sing  it  when  I 
was  a  boy.  Thank  you,  Christian,  you  have  sung 
it  very  well.  But,  tell  me  now,  old  Hennemann, 
what  is  to  become  of  Christian  ?  You  yourself 
shall  remain  here  at  Kunzendorf,  and  I  will  see 
to  it  that  you  are  well  provided  for.  But  what 
about  Christian  ?  " 

"  He  is  anxious  to  enlist,  general,"  said  Henne- 
mann, timidly,  "and  that  is  the  reason  why  I 
brought  him  to  your  excellency.  I  wanted  to  re- 
quest you  to  take  charge  of  him,  and  make  out  of 
him  as  good  a  soldier  as  you  are  yourself." 

Blucher  smiled.  "  I  have  been  successful,"  he 
said,  "but  those  were  good  days  for  soldiers. 
Now,  however,  the  times  are  very  unfavorable ; 
the  Prussian  soldier  has  nothing  to  do,  and  must 
quietly  look  on  while  the  French  are  playing  the 
mischief  in  Prussia." 

"  No,  general,"  said  Hennemann,  "  it  seems  to 
me  the  Prussian  soldier  has  a  great  deal  to  do." 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  he  has  to  do?" 
asked  Blucher. 

*  Spin,  spin,  my  little  daughter,  dear  |. 

A  pretty  pair  of  shoes  for  theo  I — 
Alas,  my  mother !  let  me  hear 

What  use  are  pretty  shoes  to  me  I 
I  cannot  dance— I  cannot  spin ; 
And  why  these  promised  shoes  to  win ! 

0  mother  mine,  I  will  not  take 
Thy  kindly  gift.    My  fingers  ache ! 

Spin,  spin,  my  little  daughter  dear  I 
And  a  bright  silver-piece  is  thine!— 

Alas,  my  mother's  loving  care 
Makes  not  this  shining  money  mine! 

1  cannot  dance — I  cannot  spin  ; 
What  use  such  wages  thus  to  win  ? 
O  mother  dear  !  I  cannot  take 
This  silver,  for  my  fingers  ache. 

Spin,  spin,  my  little  daughter  dear! 

For  thee  a  handsome  husband  waits.— 
Oh,  then,  my  mother,  have  no  fear ; 

My  heart  this  work  no  longer  hates. 
Now  can  I  dance,  and  also  spin, 
A  handsome  husband  thus  to  win. 
Thy  best  reward  I  gladly  take ! 
No  more — no  more,  my  fingers  achfl 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF   MECKLENBURG. 


!4  To  expel  the  French  from  Prussia,  that  is 
what  he  has  to  do,"  said  the  old  man,  raising  his 
voice. 

"Yes,"  said  Blucher,  smiling,  "if  that  could  be 
done,  I  should  like  to  be  counted  in." 

"  It  can  be  done,  general ;  every  honest  man 
says  .<o,  and  it  ought  to  be,  for  the  French  are 
behaving  too  shamefully.  They  must  be  ex- 
pelled from  Germany.  Well,  then,  my  Christian 
wishes  to  assist  you  in  doing  so ;  he  wishes  to 
become  a  soldier,  and  help  you  to  drive  out  the 
French." 

"  Alas,  he  must  apply  to  some  one  else  if  he 
wishes  to  do  that,"  said  Blucher,  mournfully.  "  I 
cannot  help  him,  for  they  have  pensioned  me.  I 
have  no  regiments.  I — but,  thunder  and  light- 
ning !  what  is  the  matter  with  my  pipe  to-day  ? 
The  thing  will  not  burn."  And  he  put  his  little 
finger  into  the  bowl,  and  tried  to  smoke  again. 

"  The  pipe  does  not  draw  well,  because  it  was 
not  skilfully  filled,"  said  Christian.  I  know  it 
was  badly  filled." 

1  asked  Blucher.    "  What  do  you  know  ? 
hn   has   been  filling  my  pipes  for  four  years 
t." 

"John  has  done  it  very  poorly,"  said  Christian, 
posed! y.     "  To  fill  such  a  clay  pipe  is  an  art 
which  a  good  many  are  not  familiar,  and 
hen  it  is  smoked  for  the  first  time  it  does  not 
11.     It  ought  first  to  be  smoked  by 
one,  and  John  ought  to  have  done  so  yester- 
y  if  the  general  wished  to  use  his  pipe  to-day." 
"Why,  he  knows  something  about  a  clay  pipe," 
Bluclr  r,  "and   he  is  right;  it  always 
tes  better  on  the  second  day  than  on  the  first." 
That  is  the  re.ison  why  the  second  day  al- 
,ys  ought  to  be  the  first  for  General  Blucher," 

'.in. 

"ile    is   right,"   exclaimed  Blucher,    laiu:hin:_', 
44  it  would  smvly  be  hotter  if  the  second  were  al- 
ays  til-.-  first  day.     Well,  I  know  now  what  is 
he  rn;i'lc  <>f  Clnistiau  ;  IK-  is  to  become  my  pipc- 
master." 

"Pip.  asked    old    Hennemaim    and 

Christian  at  the  sanr.e  time.     "  Pipe-master,  what 

iathat?" 

6 


: 


it 

= 


"  That  is  a  man  who  keeps  my  pipes  in  good 
order,"  said  Blucher,  with  a  ludicrously  grave  air 
— *'  a  man  who  nukes  the  second  my  first  day — 
who  smokes  my  pipes  first — puts  them  back  into 
the  box  at  night,  preserves  the  broken  ones,  and 
fills  them,  however  short  they  may  be.  He  who 
does  not  prize  a  short  pipe  does  not  deserve  to 
have  a  long  one.  A  good  pipe  and  good  tobacco 
are  things  of  the  highest  importance  in  life.  Ah  ! 
if,  in  1807,  at  Liibeck,  I  had  had  powder  for 
the  guns  and  tobacco  for  my  men,  I  would  have 
raised  such  clouds  that  the  French  could  not  have 
stood.*  Well,  Christian,  you  shall  therefore  be- 
come my  pipe  master,  and  I  hope  you  will  faith- 
fully perform  the  duties  of  your  office." 

"  I  shall  certainly  take  pains  to  do  so,"  said 
Christian,  "and  you  may  depend  on  it,  general, 
that  I  shall  preserve  the  broken,  short  pipes ;  I 
will  not  throw  them  away  before  it  is  necessary. 
But  suppose  there  should  be  war,  general,  and  you 
should  take  the  field,  what  would  become  of  me 
in  that  case  ?  " 

"  Well,  in  that  case  you  will  accompany  me," 
said  Blucher.  "  What  should  I  do  in  the  field  if 
I  could  not  get  a  good  pipe  of  tobacco  all  the 
time  ?  Without  that  I  am  of  no  account. f  But 
it  is  necessary  to  do  good  service  for  Prussia, 
and  hence  I  need,  above  all,  a  good  pipe  of  to- 
bacco in  the  field.  Well,  then,  tell  me  now 
plainly,  will  you  accept  the  office  I  offer  you  in 
peace  and  in  war,  Christian  ?  " 

"  Yes,  general,"  said  Christian,  solemnly. 
"  And  I  swear  that  General  Blucher  shall  never 
lack  a  well-lighted  pipe,  even  though  I  fetch  a 
match  from  the  French  gunners  to  kindle  it." 

"  That  is  right,  Christian ;  you  are  in  my  ser- 
vice now,  and  may  at  once  enter  upon  the  duties 
of  your  office.  You,  Hennemann,  stay  here  and 
do  me  the  favor  of  living  as  long  and  being  as 
merry  as  possible.  Now,  pipe-master,  ring  the 
bell!" 

The  new  pipe-master  rang  the  bell,  and  John 
entered  the  room 


*  Blacher's  own  worda.-Vide  «  Marshal  Forward,"  » 
popular  biography, 
t  Blucher's  own  word*. 


66 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


"John!"  said  Blucher,  "I  owe  a  reparation 
of  honor  to  this  aged  hussar.  It  was  he  who 
took  me  prisoner  in  1760.  He  brought  me  the 
proof  of  it — the  yellow  facing  of  the  sleeve  here. 
Take  it  and  fasten  it  to  the  old  uniform  of  Blu- 
cher, the  Swedi&h  ensign,  which  I  have  alwavs 
preserved  ;  it  belongs  to  it.  You  see  that  hussar 
Henuemann  is  an  honest  man,  and  that  I  owe  him 
the  ransom.  He  will  stay  here,  and  have  nothing 
to  do  but  eat  and  drink  well,  sit  in  the  sun,  and, 
in  the  evening,  when  it  affords  him  pleasure,  tell 
you  stories  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  in  which  he 
participated.  If  other  hussars  come  and  tell  you 
they  took  me  prisoner,  you  know  it  is  not  true, 
and  need  not  admit  them.  But  you  must  not 
abuse  the  poor  old  fellows  for  that  reason,  nor 
tell  them  that  they  are  swindlers.  You  will  give 
them  something  to  eat  and  drink,  a  bed  over- 
night, and,  in  the  morning,  when  they  set  out,  a 
dollar  for  travelling  expenses.  Now  take  the 
old  man  and  his  son  to  the  adjoining  building, 
and  tell  the  inspector  to  give  them  a  room  where 
they  are  to  live.  And  then,"  added  Blucher,  hesi- 
tatingly, and  almost  in  confusion, — "  you  have 
too  much  to  do,  John ;  you  must  have  an  assist- 
ant. It  takes  you  too  much  time  to  fill  my  pipes, 
and  this  young  man,  therefore,  will  help  you.  I 
have  appointed  Christian  Hennemann  my  pipe- 
master.  Well,  do  not  reply — take  the  two  men 
to  the  building,  and  be  good  friends — do  you  hear, 
good  friends ! " 

John  bowed  in  silence,  and  made  a  sign  to  the 
two  Mecklenburgians  to  follow  him.  Blucher 
gazed  after  them  with  keen  glances.  "  Well,  I 
am  afraid  their  friendship  will  not  amount  to 
much,"  he  said,  smiling  and  stroking  his  beard. 
"  John  does  not  like  this  pipe-master  business, 
and  will  show  it  to  Christian  as  soon  as  an  op- 
portunity offers.  I  do  not  care  if  they  do  have  a 
good  fight.  It  would  be  a  little  diversion,  for  it 
is  horribly  tedious  here.  Ah,  how  long  is  this  to 
last  ?  How  long  am  I  to  sit  here  and  wait  until 
Prussia  and  the  king  call  upon  me  to  drive  Napo- 
leon out  of  the  country  ?  How  long  am  I  to  be 
idle  while  Bonaparte  is  gaining  one  victory  after 
another  in  Russia  ?  I  have  not  much  time  to 


spare  for  waiting,  and — well,"  he  suddenly  inter 
ruptod  himself,  quickly  stepping  up  to  the  window 
"  what  is  that  ?  Is  not  that  a  carriage  driving 
into  the  court-yard?"  Yes,  it  really  is,  just 
entering  the  iron  gate,  and  rolling  with  great 
noise  across  the  pavement.  "I  wonder  who  that 
is  ?  "  muttered  Blucher,  casting  a  piercing  glance 
into  the  carriage,  which  stopped  at  that  moment 
in  front  of  the  mansion.  He  uttered  a  cry  of 
joy,  and  ran  out  of  the  room  with  the  alacrity  of 
a  youth. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

GLAD   TIDINGS. 

"  IT  is  he,  it  is  he  ! "  exclaimed  General  Blucher, 
rushing  out  of  the  front  door,  and  hastening  with 
outstretched  arms  toward  the  gentleman,  who, 
wrapped  in  a  Russian  fur  robe,  alighted  with  his 
two  servants.  "  My  beloved  Scharnhorst ! "  And 
he  clasped  his  friend  in  his  arms  as  if  it  were  some 
longed-for  mistress  whom  he  was  pressing  to  hia 
bosom. 

"  Blucher,  my  dear  friend,  let  me  go,  or  you 
will  choke  me ! "  exclaimed  Scharnhorst,  laugh- 
ing. "  Come,  let  us  go  into  the  house." 

"  Yes,  come,  dearest,  best  friend  !  "  said  Blu- 
cher, and  encircling  Scharnhorst's  neck  with  hia 
arm,  drew  him  along  so  hastily  that,  gasping  for 
breath,  the  latter  was  scarcely  able  to  accompany 
him. 

On  entering  the  sitting-room,  Blucher  himself 
divested  his  friend  of  his  fur  robe,  and,  throwing 
it  on  the  floor  in  his  haste,  took  off  Scharnhorst's 
cap.  "  I  must  look  at  you,  my  friend,"  he  ex- 
claimed. "  I  must  see  the  face  of  my  dear 
Scharnhorst,  and  now  that  I  see  it,  I  must  kiss 
it !  To  see  you  again  does  me  as  much  good  as 
a  fountain  in  the  desert  to  the  pilgrim  dying  of 
thirst," 

"  Well,  but  now  you  must  allow  me  to  say  a 
word,"  said  Scharnhorst.  "  And  let  me  look  at 
yourself.  Remember,  it  is  nearly  a  year  sines 
I  saw  anything  of  you  but  your  handwriting." 


GLAD   TIDINGS. 


"And  that  is  very  illegible,"  said  Blucher, 
jwghing. 

"  It  is  at  least  not  as  legible  and  intelligible  as 
your  dear  face,"  said  Scharnhorst.  "  Here,  on 
this  forehead  and  in  these  eyes,  I  can  read  quickly 
and  easily  all  that  your  excellent  head  thinks,  and 
your  noble  heart  feels.  And  now  I  read  there 
that  I  am  really  welcome,  and  need  not  by  any 
means  apologize  for  not  having  announced  my 
visit  to  you." 

"  Apologize  ! "  exclaimed  Blucher.  "  You  know 
full  well  that  you  afford  me  the  most  heart-felt 
joy,  and  that  I  feel  as  though  spring  were  coming 
with  all  its  blessed  promises." 

"  Well,  let  us  not  wish  spring  to  come  too  early 
this  year.  We  need  a  good  deal  of  ice  and  cold 
weather,  to  build  a  crystal  palace  for  Bonaparte 
n  Russia." 

Blucher  cast  a  flashing  glance  upon  his  guest. 
Scharnhorst,"  he  asked,  breathlessly,  "  you  have 
come  to  bring  me  important  news,  have  you  not  ? 
Oh,  pray,  speak !  I  am  sure  you  have  come  to 
tell  me  that  the  time  has  come  for  rising  against 
the  French!" 

"  No ;  I  have  simply  come  to  see  you,"  said 
Scharnhorst,  smiling.  "  And  you  are  in  truth  a 
cold-hearted  friend  to  think  any  other  motive  was 
required  than  that  of  friendship." 

"  I  thought  it  was  time  for  Providence  to  bring 
about  a  change.  But  it  was  kind  of  you  to  come 
to  me  merely  for  my  sake,  and,  moreover,  in 
weather  so  cold  as  this,  and  at  your  age." 

"  At  my  age  ! "  exclaimed  Scharnhorst,  smiling. 
11  Why,  yes,  my  friend,  at  your  age.  If  I  am 
not  mistaken,  you  must  be  well-nigh  sixty,  and 
at  that  time  of  life  travelling  in  a  season  like  this 
is  assuredly  somewhat  unpleasant,  and — but  why 
do  you  laugh  ?  " 

"  As  you  refer  to  my  age,  my  dearest  friend,  I 
suppose  you  will  permit  me  to  speak  of  yours  ?  " 
"  Why  not?     We  are  no  marriageable  ^irls  on 
the  lookout  for  husbands." 

'  Well,   then,  my   dear  General  Blueher,   how 
old  are  you?" 

"  I  ?     I  am  a  little  over  seventy." 

tt  And  I  am  fifty-six,  and  yet  you  think  old  age 


s  weighing  me  down,  while  a  wreath  of  snow- 
drops is  overhanging  your  brow." 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  said  Blucher,  in  confusion. 
'  I  had  really  forgotten  my  age." 

"  The  reason  is,  that  your  heart  is  still  young 
and  fresh,"  exclaimed  Scharnhorst,  looking  at 
him  tenderly,  and  laying  his  hand  on  Blucher's 
broad  shoulder.  "Thank  God!  you  are  still 
young  Blucher,  with  his  fiery  head  and  heroic 
arm — young  Blucher  whose  eagle  eye  gazes  into 
the  future,  and  who  does  not  despair,  however  dis- 
heartening the  present  may  be." 

"  I  am  sure  you  have  brought  news,"  said 
Blucher.  "  I  can  see  it  in  your  eves — Heaven 
knows  whether  good  or  bad.  But  you  have  news, 
I  know  it." 

"  No,  my  young  firebrand,"  exclaimed  Scharn- 
horst, "I  bring  only  myself,  and  this  self  I 
should  like  now  above  all  to  lay  at  the  feet  of 
your  respected  wife." 

"Yes,  that  is  true,"  said  Blucher;  "in  my 
joy  I  almost  forgot  that  my  Amelia  ought  to 
share  it.  Come,  general,  let  me  conduct  you  to 
my  wife."  He  took  Scharnhorst's  arm  and  con- 
ducted him  rapidly  across  the  sitting-room  toward 
the  apartments  of  Madame  von  Blucher.  "  Tread 
softly ;  you  know  what  an  admirer  of  yours  my 
wife  is,  and  how  glad  she  will  be  to  see  you.  We 
will,  therefore,  surprise  her.  She  doubtless  did 
not  notice  your  arrival,  for  her  windows  open 
upon  the  garden.  She  does  not  yet  know  that 
you  are  here,  and  how  glad  she  will  be !  Hush ! " 

He  glided  to  the  door  and  rapped.  "  Amelia," 
he  said,  "  are  you  there,  and  may  I  come  in  ?  " 

44  Of  course  I  am  here,"  exclaimed  Madame  von 
Blucher,  "  and  you  know  well  that  I  have  already 
been  looking  for  you  for  two  hours  past.  Come 
in ! " 

"  I  have  a  visitor  with  me ;  do  you  allow  me 
to  enter  with  him,  Amelia '!  *' 

"  A  visitor  ? "  asked  Madame  von  Blucher, 
opening  the  door.  "  General  von  Scharnhorst ! " 
she  exclaimed,  hastening  to  him  and  offering  him 
both  her  hands.  "  Welcome,  general,  and  may 
Heaven  reward  you  for  the  idea  of  visiting  an  old 
woman  and  her  young  husband  in  their  wintry 


68 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


solitude.  Come,  general,  do  my  room  the  honor 
of  entering  it."  She  took  the  general's  arm  and 
drew  him  in. 

"  Scharnhorst,"  said  Blucher,  "  let  me  give  you 
some  good  advice.  Do  not  make  love  in  too  un- 
disguised a  manner  to  my  wife,  for  she  is  right  in 
saying  that  I  am  still  a  young  man,  and  I  may 
become  jealous ;  that  would  be  a  pity  !  I  should 
then  have  to  fight  a  duel  with  my  friend,  and  one 
of  us  would  have  to  die ;  and  yet  we  are  destined 
to  deliver  Prussia,  and  to  drive  that  hateful  man 
Bonaparte  out  of  Germany." 

"  See,  madame,  what  a  shrewd  and  self-willed 
intriguer  he  is  ! "  exclaimed  Scharnhorst.  "  He 
avails  himself  of  the  boundless  adoration  I  feel 
for  you  to  assist  him  in  wandering  into  his  favor- 
ite sphere  of  politics.  Madame,  the  barbarian  be- 
lieves it  to  be  altogether  impossible  that  I  come 
merely  from  motives  of  friendship,  and  insists 
that  it  was  politics  that  brought  me ! " 

"  Yes,"  said  Madame  von  Blucher,  smiling, 
"  Blucher  loves  politics ;  he  has  no  other  mis- 
tress." 

"  No,"  said  Blucher,  laughing,  "  I  know  noth- 
ing at  all  about  politics,  and  believe  the  world 
would  be  better  off  if  there  were  no  politicians. 
They  originate  all  our  troubles.  Those  diploma- 
tists are  always  sure  to  spoil  what  the  sword  has 
achieved.  Politics  have  brought  all  these  calami- 
ties upon  Germany ;  otherwise,  we  should  long 
since  have  risen  against  the  French,  instead  of 
allowing  our  soldiers  to  fight  for  Bonaparte  in 
Russia.  I  say  it  is  absurd,  and  I  am  so  angry  at 
it  that  it  will  make  me  consumptive.  I  say  all 
those  diplomatists  ought  to  be  sent  into  the  field 
against  Russia  in  order  to  study  new-fangled  poli- 
tics in  Siberia.  I  say — " 

u  You  will  say  nothing  further  about  the  mat- 
ter, my  friend,  for  there  is  John,  who  wishes  to 
tell  us  that  dinner  is  ready,"  Madame  von  Blu- 
cher interrupted  her  husband,  who,  glowing  with 
anger,  and  trembling  with  excitement,  was  fight- 
mg  with  his  arms  in  the  air  and  with  a  terrible 
expression  of  countenance.  "  Come,  general,  let 
us  go  to  the  dining-room,"  said  Madame  von  Blu- 
cher, giving  her  hand  to  Scbarnhorst.  "  And 


you,  my  valorous  young  husband,  give  me  youi 
hand,  too ! " 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  Blucher  replied.  "  I  must 
first  give  vent  to  my  anger,  or  it  will  choke  me." 
At  a  bound,  he  rushed  as  a  passionate  boy  toward 
the  sofa,  and,  striking  it  with  both  fists,  so  that 
the  dust  rose  from  it  in  clouds,  shouted  :  "  Have 
I  got  you  at  length,  you  horrible  butcher — are 
you  at  length  under  my  scourge  ?  Now  you  shall 
find  out  how  Pomeranians  whip  their  enemies, 
and  what  it  is  to  treat  people  as  shamefully  as 
you  have  done.  I  will  whip  you — yes,  until  you 
cry,  «  Pater,  peccavi  I  *  There,  take  that  for 
Jena,  and  this  blow  for  compelling  me  to  capitu- 
late at  Lubeck ;  and  this  and  this  for  the  infa- 
mies you  have  perpetrated  upon  our  beautiful 
queen  at  Tilsit !  This  last  blow  take  for  the  Rus- 
sian treaty  to  which  you  compelled  our  king  to 
accede,  and  now  a  few  more  yet !  If  Heaven 
does  not  strike  you,  Blucher  must;  you  ought 
not  to  be  left  unpunished  1 " 

"  Ah,  well,  that  is  enough,  my  friend,"  ex- 
claimed Amelia,  hastening  to  him  and  seizing  his 
arm,  which  he  had  already  raised  again.  "  You 
are  very  capable  of  destroying  my  sofa,  and  you 
believe  that  you  have  gained  a  campaign  by  tear- 
ing my  beautiful  velvet  in  shreds." 

"  Well,  yes,  it  is  enough  now,  and  I  feel  bet- 
ter. Well,  my  friend,"  he  said,  turning  to  Scharn- 
horst, who  had  witnessed  his  foolish  antics  with  a 
grave  and  mournful  air,  "  you  need  not  look  at 
me  in  so  melancholy  a  manner.  I  suppose  they 
have  told  you,  too,  that  old  Blucher  at  times  gets 
crazy,  and  strikes  at  the  flies  on  the  wall,  and 
beats  chairs  and  sofas,  because,  in  his  insanity, 
he  believes  them  to  be  Napoleon.*  But  it  is  as- 
suredly no  madness  that  makes  me  act  hi  thia 
manner,  as  stupid  fools  assert,  but  it  is  simply  a 
way  in  which  I  relieve  my  anger,  that  it  may  not 
break  my  heart.  It  is  the  same  as  if  a  man  who 
has  to  fight  a  duel  should  take  fencing-lessons, 
and  practise  with  the  sword,  in  order  to  hit  his 


*  Owing  to  this  peculiarity  and  the  strange  ebullitions 
of  rage  in  which  he  indulged  from  time  to  time,  Bluchef 
was  really  believed  to  be  deranged  for  several  years  pre- 
vious to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  liberatioa 


GLAD  TIDINGS. 


69 


: 


adversary.     But  I  have  satisfied  my  anger,  and 
will  again  be  as  gentle  as  a  lamb." 

"  Yes,  as  a  lamb  which  reverses  the  order  of 
things,  and,  instead  of  allowing  the  wolf  to  devour 
it,  is  quite  ready  to  devour  the  wolf,"  said  Scharn- 
horst,  laughing. 

"  Let  us  go  to  dinner,  generals,"  cried  Amelia  ; 
"  but  on  one  condition  !  During  the  repast  not 
a  word  must  be  said  about  my  hateful  rival,  poli- 
tics, nor  will  you  be  permitted  to  sprinkle  Napo- 
leon as  cayenne  pepper  over  our  dishes.  Blucher 
is  too  hot-blooded,  and  pepper  does  not  agree  with 
:iira." 

"  But  a  glass  rf  champagne  agrees  with  him 
vben  a  dear  friend  is  present,"  exclaimed  Blucher. 

Oh,  John,  come  here !  Accompany  my  wife, 
Scharnhoret;  I  have  only  to  tell  John  whut  he  is 
to  fetch  from  the  wine-cellar." 

While  Blucher  gave  his  orders  to  John  in  a 
hurried  and  low  voice,  instructing  him  to  place  a 
;intial  battery  of  bottles  of  champagne  in 
front  of  the  two  generals,  Scharnhoret  preceded 
him  with  Madame  von  Blucher  to  the  dining- 
room. 

"  Madame  von  Blucher,"  whispered  Scharn- 
horst, after  satisfying  himself  by  a  quick  side- 
glance  that  Blucher  was  too  far  from  them  to 
overhear  his  words,  "  permit  me  to  ask  a  ques- 
tion. Is  your  husband  strong  and  healthy  enough, 
both  physically  and  mentally,  for  me  to  talk  to 
him  about  politics  ?  May  I  communicate  to  him 
some  important  news  which  I  have  received  to- 
day, or  would  I  thereby  excite  him  too  much  ?  " 

"  Do  you  bring  glad  tidings  ?  "  asked  Amelia. 

"  I  believe  we  may  consider  them  so ;  at  all 
events,  they  are  encouraging/' 

In  that  case,  general,  you  may  unhesitatingly 
communicate  them  ;  but,  pray,  do  so  only  after  din- 
ner, and  when  he  has  somewhat  recovered  from  the 
excitement  with  which  your  welcome  but  unex- 
ted  visit  has  filled  him.  Blucher's  mind  is 
fectly  strong  and  healthy,  but  his  body  is 
feeble,  and  he  is  still  affected  with  a  disease  of 
the  stomach,  which,  precisely  at  dinner,  very 
often  gives  him  severe  pain.  Pray,  therefore,  no 
excitement  and  no  politics  at  the  dinner-table." 


"  So,  here  I  am,"  said  Bluchcr,  who  had  fol- 
lowed them,  and  now  took  the  general's  arm ; 
"now,  children,  quick,  for  I  long  to  take  wine 
again  with  my  dear  Scharnhorst," 

Scharnhorst  faithfully  complied  with  the  wishes 
of  Madame  von  Blucher.  No  allusion  to  politics 
was  made  during  the  dinner,  and  their  conversa- 
tion was  harmless,  merry,  and  desultory.  They 
left  the  dining-room  and  took  coffee  in  the  cosy 
sitting-room  of  Madame  von  Blucher. 

"  And  now,"  said  Blucher,  who  was  sitting  on 
the  sofa  by  the  side  of  Suharnhorst,  while  his 
wife  sat  in  the  easy-chair  opposite  them,  "  let  us 
fill  our  pipes,  or  rather  smoke  them,  for  they 
have  already  been  filled." 

"  But  shall  we  be  permitted  to  do  so  in  your 
wife's  room  ?  "  asked  Scharnhorst. 

"  Oh,  I  have  been  accustomed  to  it  for  twenty 
years  past,*'  exclaimed  Amelia,  laughing.  "  When 
I  wished  to  have  Blucher  in  my  room,  and  by  my 
side,  I  could  not  show  the  door  to  his  pipe ;  and 
therefore,  as  a  good  soldier's  wife,  I  have  accus- 
tomed myself  to  the  odor  of  tobacco-smoke." 

"  Well,"  said  Blucher,  pointing  to  the  two  clay 
pipes  which  lay  on  the  silver  tray  beside  the 
burning  wax-candle  and  the  cup  filled  with  paper- 
kindlers,  "take  a  match  and  fire  the  cannon; 
luckily  it  makes  no  noise,  but  only  smoke." 

Madame  von  Blucher  handed  each  of  the  gen- 
tlemcn  a  clay  pipe,  and  then  held  a  burning 
paper  close  to  the  tobacco. 

"  Now,  the  guns  are  ready,  and  the  battle  may 
commence,"  said  Blucher,  puffing  a  cloud  from 
his  pipe. 

"You  see,  general,"  said  Amelia,  turning  to 
Scharnhorst  with  a  significant  glance,  "madcap 
Blucher  cannot  refrain  from  talking  all  the  time 
about  battles  and  politics.  Now,  indulge  him  hi 
his  whim,  general,  and  talk  a  little  with  him 
about  these  topics." 

"  I  believe  it  will  amount  to  little,"  growled 
Blucher.  "If  Scharnhorst  had  brought  good 
news  he  would  not  have  kept  me  so  long  from 
knowing  it.  No;  the  news  is  always  the  same; 
I  know  it  already  1  New  bulletins  favorable  to 
Napoleon — nothing  else  ! " 


70 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


Scharnhorst  smiled.  "  Why,  my  friend,  what 
is  the  reason  of  your  sudden  despondency  ?  Have 
you,  then,  lost  all  your  faith  in  the  approach  of 
better  times  ? — you  who  used  to  be  more  cou- 
rageous than  any  of  us,  you  who  hitherto  cherished 
the  firm  belief  in  a  change  for  the  better,  and 
were  to  us  a  shining  beacon  of  honor,  hope,  and 
courage !  What  shall  we  do,  and  what  is  to  be- 
come of  us,  when  Blucher  gets  discouraged  and 
ceases  to  hope  ?  " 

"Well,"  said  Blucher,  "I  am  not  yet  discour- 
aged ;  I  still  hope  for  a  change  for  the  better, 
and  know  that  it  will  surely  come,  for  Scharn- 
horst  still  lives  and  paves  the  way  for  more  pros- 
perous times.  Yes,  certainly,  there  will  be  better 
times;  Scharnhorst  is  secretly  creating  an  army 
for  us,  and  when  the  army  has  been  organized, 
he  will  call  me,  and  I  shall  put  myself  beside  him 
at  the  head  of  the  troops,  and  we  shall  then  march 
against  the  French  emperor  with  drums  beating ; 
we  shall  defeat  him — drive  him  with  his  routed 
soldiers  beyond  the  frontiers  of  Germany,  so  that 
he  never  again  shall  dare  to  return  to  the  father- 
land. Providence  has  spared  me  so  long  for  this 
purpose ;  I  believe  that  I  am  chosen  to  chastise 
the  insolent  Napoleon  for  all  his  crimes  com- 
mitted against  Germany  and  Prussia.  I  am  des- 
tined to  overthrow  him,  deliver  my  country,  and 
victoriously  reestablish  my  dear  king  in  all  his  for- 
mer states.  Napoleon  must  be  hurled  from  his 
throne,  and  I  must  assist  in  bringing  about  his 
downfall ;  and  before  that  has  been  accomplished 
I  will  and  cannot  die.*  Yes,  laugh  at  me  as  much 
as  you  please ;  I  am  already  accustomed  to  that 
when  talking  in  this  style ;  but  it  will,  neverthe- 
less, prove  true,  and  my  prophecies  will  be  ful- 
filled. You  may  deride  me,  but  you  cannot  shake 
my  firm  belief  in  what  I  tell  you." 

"  But  I  do  not  deride  you,"  said  Scharnhorst. 
f  I  am  glad  of  your  reliance  on  Heaven,  which, 
while  ah1  were  discouraged  and  despairing,  stood 
as  a  rock  in  the  midst  of  the  breakers.  I  always 
looked  to  you,  Blucher ;  the  thought  of  you  al- 
ways strengthened  and  encouraged  me,  and  when 

*  Blucher's  own  words. — Vide  his  biography  by  Varn- 
bagen  von  Ense,  p.  123. 


I  at  times  felt  like  giving  way  to  despair,  I  said  to 
myself,  *  For  shame,  Scharnhorst !  take  heart  and 
hope,  for  Blucher  still  lives,  and  so  long  as  he 
lives  there  is  hope! '  " 

"  Henceforth,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  with  radiant 
eyes,  giving  his  hand  to  his  friend,  "  henceforth 
no  one  will  deny  that  God  has  made  us  for  each 
other.  What  you  said  about  me  I  have  repeated 
to  myself  every  day  about  you.  What  was  my 
consolation  when  Prussia,  after  the  treaty  of 
Tilsit,  was  wholly  prostrated  and  ruined?  '  Scharu- 
horst  still  lives  ! '  What  did  I  say  to  myself  when 
the  cowardly  ministers,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
present  year,  had  concluded  the  abominable  al- 
liance with  France  ?  '  Scharnhorst  still  lives ! ' 
And  when  our  poor  regiments  had  to  march  to 
Russia  as  Bonaparte's  auxiliaries,  I  said  to  my- 
self: 'Scharnhorst  is  still  there  to  create  a  new 
army,  and  God  is  there  to  give  victory  one  day 
to  this  army,  which  I  shall  command.'  Oh,  tell 
me,  my  friend,  what  are  your  plans  ?  What  have 
you  been  able  to  accomplish  in  regard  to  the 
reorganization  of  the  army?  And  what  about 
the  new  officers'  regulations  which  you  are  having 
printed  ?  " 

"  They  have  already  been  printed,  and  I  have 
brought  a  copy  for  you,"  said  Scharnhorst,  draw- 
ing a  printed  book  from  his  breast-pocket,  and 
handing  it  to  his  friend. 

Blucher  gazed  on  it  long  with  grave  and  mus- 
ing eyes,  read  the  title-page,  and  glanced  over  the 
contents.  "  Scharnhorst,"  he  then  said,  solemnly, 
"  this  is  a  great  and  important  work,  and  pos- 
terity only  will  appreciate  its  whole  importance, 
and  thank  you  deservedly  for  it.  Our  old  mil- 
itary structure  was  utterly  rotten,  and  the  first 
storm,  therefore,  caused  it  to  break  down  and  fall 
to  pieces.  But  Scharnhorst  is  an  architect  who 
knew  how  to  find  among  the  ruins  material  for  a 
new  and  solid  structure,  and  this  structure  will 
one  day  cause  the  power  of  Bonaparte  to  dis- 
appear. This  book,  which  entirely  changes  the 
duties  and  relations  of  the  officers  of  all  arms, 
and  transforms  our  whole  military  system,  is  the 
splendid  plan  of  the  building  which  you  are  about 
to  erect.  By  the  introduction  of  these  regula 


GLAD   TIDING?. 


tiona  the  antiquated  system  which  brought  upon 
Prussia  the  defeats  of  Jena  and  Auerstadt,  is 
abolished ;  the  great  simplicity  of  the  scheme,  and 
its  practical  spirit,  are  the  best  antidotes  against 
the  prevalence  of  the  old-fashioned  notions  which 
have  proved  so  disastrous.  You  have  performed 
a  great  work,  Scharnhorst,  and  Prussia  must  thank 
you  for  it  as  long  as  she  has  an  army." 

"  I  may  say  at  least  that  I  have  striven  for  a 
grand  object,"  said  Scharnhorst,  "and  I  have  left 
nothing  undone  in  order  to  attain  it.  Many 
changes  had  to  be  made,  and  many  evils  eradi- 
cated, when  the  king,  after  the  calamitous  days 
of  Tilsit,  placed  me  at  the  head  of  the  commission 
which  was  to  reorganize  the  whole  Pru>>ian 
army.  We  had  to  work  night  and  day,  for  it 
was  incumbent  upon  us  to  arrange  a  new  system 
of  conscription,  organize  the  levies,  draw  up  new 
articles  of  war,  and  complete  the  battalions, 
squadrons,  and  batteries.  It  was,  besides,  our 
task  to  give  the  army  an  honorable  position,  to 
constitute  the  soldier  the  sacred  guardian  of  the 
noblest  blessings  of  all  nations — liberty  and  na- 
tionality; and  to  give-  him  a  country  for  which  he 
was  to  fight.  The  soldier,  therefore,  had  to  be  a 
eitizen ;  the  army  was  no  longer  to  consist  of 
hirelings,  but  of  the  sons  of  the  country,  and  to 
had  to  be  intrusted  the  sacred  and  inevita- 

e  duty  of  learning  the  profession  of  arms,  and 
of  devoting  for  some  time  their  services  to  the 
fatherland.  The  citizens  had  to  be  transformed 
into  soldiers,  and  the  name  of  '  soldier '  had,  as 
it  was  among  the  Romans,  to  become  a  title  of 
honor.  In  order  to  bring  this  about,  it  was  neces- 
§ary,  too,  that  the  distinction  of  birth,  to  which 
'•rnmcnt,  in  commissioning  officers,  had 
hitherto  paid  so  much  attention,  should  be  en- 
tirely di  Kvery  recruit  had  to  know 
that  by  brav.  gq  industry,  and  intelli- 

:it  att:iiii   the   hi-hest  posit; 
t  the  private  <c»Mier  mi-lit  l.eeume  a  general." 
That  is  the  very  thing  by  which  the  aristo- 
cratic officers  of  the  old  regime  became  inti-nse- 
ly  exasp  ilnst   your  new  system,"  said 

Blucher.  "  I  know  what  you  had  to  suffer  and 
contend  against,  how  many  stumbling-blocks  were 


i  in  tit 

«* 

ble  d 


MlUl 

"T 


cast  in  your  way,  and  how  they  charged  you  with 
being  an  innovator,  and  even  a  republican,  trying 
to  transfer  the  liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity  of 
the  French  sans-culottes  into  the  Prussian  army, 
and  to  put  general's  epaulets  into  the  knapsack 
of  the  low-born  recruit.  But  all  these  arrow* 
glanced  off  from  your  dear  head,  which  waa  as 
hard  as  a  golden  anvil,  and  they  were  unable  to 
prevent  Scharnhorst  from  becoming  the  armorer 
of  German  liberty!" 

"  But  his  head  has  received  many  a  blow," 
said  Scharuhorst,  smiling.  "  However,  he  who 
wages  war  must  expect  to  be  wounded,  and  it  was 
a  terrible  war  upon  which  I  entered— one  against 
prejudice  and  old  established  customs — against 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  aristocracy.  God 
was  with  me,  and  gave  me  strength  to  complete 
my  work ;  He  gave  me,  in  Blucher,  a  friend  who 
never  refused  me  his  advice,  and  to  whose  sagacity 
and  courage  I  am  indebted  for  one-half  of  what  I 
have  achieved.  Without  your  aid  I  woxild  often 
have  given  way ;  but  it  strengthened  me  to  think 
of  you,  and  your  applause  was  a  reward  for  my 
labors.  May  we  soon  be  enabled  to  carry  into 
effect  the  new  organization  of  the  army ! " 

"  My  friend,"  said  Blucher,  shaking  his  head, 
"  God  has  forgotten  us,  I  fear,  and  averted  His  eyes 
from  Prussia  and  the  whole  of  Germany.  Napo- 
leon is  an  instrument  in  His  hands,  just  as  the 
knout  is  an  instrument  of  justice  in  the  hand  of 
the  Russian  executioner.  And  it  seems  as  though 
the  nations  deserved  much  punishment,  for  He 
still  holds  hi?  instrument  firmly  in  His  hands.  But 
patience ! — there  will  be  a  time  when  He  will  cast 
it  aside,  and  when  we  shall  arise  from  our  proi- 
tration  to  take  revenge  upon  our  scourge." 

"Who  knows  whether  this  new  era  will  not 
dawn  at  an  earlier  moment  than  we  hope  and 
look  for?"  said  Scharnhorst,  smiling. 

Blucher  started,  and  cast  a  quick  glance  on  life 
guest.  "  Schamhorst,"  he  said,  hastily,  "  you 
have  brought  news,  after  all.  I  felt  it  as  soon  as 
I  suw  you,  and  it  is  no  use  for  you  to  deny  it  any 
longer.  You  know,  and  want  to  tell  me  some- 
thing. Well,  speak  out!  I  am  prepared  for  every 
thing?  What  is  it?  Has  Napoleon  gained  an 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


other  victory  ?  Has  he  transported  the  Emperor 
Alexander  to  Siberia,  and  put  the  Russian  crown 
on  his  head  at  the  Kremlin?  Have  the  Russian 
people  prostrated  themselves  before  him,  and, 
like  other  nations,  recognized  him  as  their  sov- 
ereign and  emperor  ?  You  see,  I  am  prepared 
for  every  thing ;  for  I  insist  upon  it,  how  high 
soever  he  may  build  his  throne,  he  must  at  last 
descend,  and  it  will  be  I  who  will  bring  him  down. 
Now,  speak  out !  Has  he  again  obtained  a  great 
victory  ?  " 

"  No,  general,"  Slid  Scharnhorst,  solemnly, 
"  God  has  obtained  a  victory ! " 

Blucher  raised  his  head,  and  laid  his  clay  pipe 
slowly  on  the  table.  "  What  do  you  mean,  gen- 
eral ?  "  he  asked.  "  What  do  you  mean  by  say- 
ing, '  God  has  obtained  a  victory  ? ' " 

"  I  mean  to  say  that  He  has  sent  into  the  field 
troops  whom  even  Napoleon  is  unable  to  defeat." 

"  What  troops  do  you  refer  to  ?  " 

"I  refer  to  the  cold,  the  snow,  the  ice,  the 
howling  storm  blowing  from  Siberia,  like  the 
angry  voice  of  Heaven,  striking  down  men  and 
beasts  alike." 

"  And  these  troops  of  God  have  defeated  Na- 
|K)leon  ?  " 

"  They  have,  general !  " 

Blucher  uttered  a  cry,  and,  jumping  up  from  his 
chair,  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height.  "  The 
troops  of  God  have  defeated  Napoleon  !  "  he  ex- 
claimed, solemnly.  "I  have  always  believed  in 
divine  justice — slow  sometimes,  but  sure.  Tell 
me  every  thing,  my  friend,  tell  me  every  thing," 
he  added,  sinking  back  into  the  chair,  quite  over- 
whelmed by  what  he  had  heard.  "  Commence  at 
the  beginning,  for  I  feel  that  my  joy  renders  this 
old  head  confused,  and  I  must  gradually  accus- 
tom myself  to  it.  Tell  me  the  whole  history  of 
the  Russian  campaign,  for  it  is  the  preface  I 
ought  to  read  in  order  to  be  able  to  understand 
the  book.  And,  then,  in  conclusion,  tell  me  what 
the  good  Lord  has  done,  and  whether  He  will  now 
smploy  His  old  Blucher.  I  feel  as  though  an 
altar-taper  had  been  suddenly  lighted  in  my  heart, 
and  as  though  an  organ  were  playing  in  my  head. 
I  must  collect  my  thoughts.  Speak,  Scharnhorst, 


for  you  see  this  surprising  news  may  make  me 
insane."  He  pressed  his  hands  against  his  temples 
and  drew  a  deep  breath. 

His  wife  hastened  to  him,  and  with  her  soft 
hand  caressed  his  face,  and  looked  with  anxious 
and  tender  glances  into  his  wild  eyes.  "  Be  calm, 
Blucher,"  she  said.  "Calm  your  great,  heroic 
heart,  else  you  shall  and  must  not  hear  any  thing 
further. — General  Scharnhorst,  I  am  sure  you 
will  not  tell  him  anything  as  long  as  he  is  so 
agitated." 

"  I  will  be  calm,"  said  Blucher.  "  You  see 
that  I  am  so  already,  and  that  I  sit  here  as  still 
as  a  lamb.  Scharnhorst,  tell  me,  therefore,  everv 
thing.  I  am  all  attention." 

"  And  while  listening  to  him,  take  again  your 
old  friend,  which  has  so  often  comforted  you  in 
your  afflictions — put  your  pipe  again  into  your 
mouth,"  said  Amelia,  handing  it  to  him. 

But  Blucher  refused  it,  almost  indignantly. 
"No,"  he  said,  ':one  does  not  smoke  at  church, 
nor  when  the  Lord  speaks,  and  Schamhorst  ia 
about  to  tell  me  that  the  Lord  has  spoken.  While 
listening  to  such  words,  the  heart  must  be  devout, 
and  the  lips  may  bless  or  pray,  but  they  must  not 
hold  a  pipe.  And  now  speak,  Scharnhorst ;  I  am 
quite  calm  and  prepared  for  good  and  bad  news  " 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    OATH. 

"  SPEAK,"  said  Blucher,  once  more.  "  I  am 
prepared  for  every  thing.  Tell  me  about  Bona- 
parte in  Russia." 

"You  know  how  victoriously  and  irresistibly 
Napoleon  penetrated  with  the  various  columns  of 
his  army  into  the  interior  of  Russia,"  said  Scharn- 
horst. "Nothing  seemed  to  have  been  able  to 
withstand  him — nothing  powerful  enough  to  arrest 
his  triumphant  progress.  The  Russian  generals, 
as  if  panic-stricken,  retreated  farther  and  farther 
the  deeper  Napoleon  advanced  into  the  heart  of 
the  empire.  Neither  Kutusoff,  nor  Wittgenstein. 


THE  OATH. 


73 


nor  Barclay,  dared  risk  the  fate  of  Russia  in  a 
decisive  battle ;  even  the  Era peror  Alexander  pre- 
ferred to  leave  the  army  and  retire  to  MO.-JOU  to 
wait  for  the  arrival  of  fresh  reinforcements,  and 
render  new  resources  available.  Napoleon,  in  the 
mean  time,  advanced  still  farther,  constantly  in 
search  of  the  enemy,  whom  he  was  unable  to  find 
anywhere,  and  everywhere  meeting  another  ene- 
my whom  he  was  nowhere  able  to  avoid  or  con- 
quer. This  latter  was  the  Russian  climate.  The 
scorching  heat,  the  drenching  rains,  bred  diseases 
which  made  more  havoc  in  the  ranks  of  the 
French  than  the  swords  of  living  enemies  would 
have  been  able  to  do.  At  the  same  time  supplies 
were  wanting,  so  that  the  immense  host  received 
but  scanty  and  insufficient  rations.  The  soldiers 
suffered  the  greatest  privations,  and  the  Russian 
people,  incited  by  their  czar  and  their  priests  to 
intense  hatred  and  fanatical  fury,  escaped  with 
their  personal  property  and  their  provisions  from 
the  villages  and  the  small  towns  rather  than  wel- 
come the  enemy  and  open  to  him  their  houses  in 
compulsory  hospitality.  The  French  army,  re- 
duced by  sickness,  privations,  and  hunger,  to 
y  one-half  of  its  original  strength,  neverthe- 
continued  advancing ;  it  forced  an  entrance 
into  Smolensk  after  a  bloody  struggle  ;  after  tak- 
ing a  short  rest  in  the  ruined,  burning,  and  en- 
tirely deserted  city,  it  marched  upon  Moscow.  In 
front  of  tlii.s  ancient  capital  of  the  czars  it  met  at 
on  the  7th  of  September  the  living  enemy 

had  so  long  sought.  Bagration,  Kiitusoff,  and 
Barclay,  occupied  with  their  army  positions  in 
front  of  it  in  order  to  prevent  the  approaching 
foe  from  entering  holy  Moscow.  Y6u  know  the 
particulars  of  the  bloo'iy  battle  on  the  Moskwa. 
ins  and  the  French  foughl  on  this  7th 
.IMT  for  eleven  long  hours  with  the  most 
....-ration,  with  truly  fanatical  fury; 
whole  ranks  were  mowed  down  like  corn  under 

e   harvester's  scythe ;  their  generals  and  chief- 
themaelves  were  struck  down  in  the  unpar- 
»  _rle ;    more   than   seventy   thousand 

killed  and  wounded  covered  the  battle-field,  and 
yet  there  were  no  d  i!ts.     The  1: 

had  only  been  forced  back,  but  not  defeated  and 


aucec 

r 


iiuni  ( 

:,„,,„ 

it  bad 


part 

1 

who 
the  I 

uiu- 


routed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  stand  in  need  of 
peace,  in  order  to  recover  from  the  terrible  con- 
sequences of  the  struggle.  To  be  sure,  Napoleon 
held  the  battle-field,  and,  on  the  14th  of  Septem- 
ber, made  his  entry  into  Moscow,  but  no  messen- 
gers came  to  him  from  Alexander  to  sue  for 
peace ;  no  submissive  envoys  to  meet  him,  as  he 
had  been  accustomed  to  see  in  other  conquered 
cities,  and  surrender  him  the  keys ;  the  streets 
were  deserted,  and  no  excited  crowd  appeared 
either  there  or  at  the  windows  of  the  houses  to 
witness  his  entry.  The  city,  whence  the  inhabit- 
ants and  authorities  had  fled,  was  a  vast  gaping 
grave." 

"  But  the  grave  soon  gave  signs  of  animation," 
exclaimed  Blucher,  excitedly ;  "  the  desert  was 
transformed  into  a  sea  of  fire,  and  the  burning 
city  gave  a  horrible  welcome  to  the  French.  The 
governor  of  Moscow,  Count  Rostopchin,  intended 
to  greet  the  entering  conqueror  with  an  illumina- 
tion, and,  as  he  had  no  torches  handy,  he  set  fire 
to  the  houses.  He  removed  the  stores  and  sup- 
plies, compelled  the  inhabitants  to  leave,  had  the 
fire-engines  concealed,  ordered  inflammable  oils 
and  rosin  to  be  placed  everywhere  in  order  to  in- 
tensify the  fury  of  the  conflagration,  and  then  re- 
leased the  convicts  that  they  might  set  fire  to  the 
city.  The  first  house  kindled  was  Rostopchin's 
own  magnificent  palace,  close  to  the  gates  of 
Moscow.  Well,  it  is  true,  Rostopchin  acted  like 
a  barbarian  ;  but  still  the  man's  character  seems 
grand,  and  his  ferocity  that  of  the  lion  shaking 
his  mane,  and  rushing  with  a  roar  upon  bis  ad- 
versary. To  be  sure,  it  was  no  great  military  ex- 
ploit to  burn  down  a  large  city,  but  still  it  was  a 
splendid  stratagem,  and,  in  a  struggle  with  a  hate- 
ful and  infamous  enemy,  all  ways  and  means  are 
gpermitted  and  justifiable.  I  do  not  merely  ex- 
cuse Rostopchin,  but  I  admire  his  tremendous 
energy,  and  believe,  if  I  were  a  Russian,  I  would 
have  done  something  of  the  sort.  His 
act  compelled  the  enemy  soon  to  leave,  as  he 
not  establish  his  winter-quarters  amid 
ruins,  and  to  retreat  instead  of  advan- 
cing, and  obliged  the  Emperor  Alexander  to  cease 
his  vacillating  course — inasmuch  as,  after  the 


74 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


conflagration,  further  attempts  at  bringing  about 
a  compromise  and  reconciliation  between  the  bel- 
ligerents were  entirely  out  of  the  question." 

"No,  general,  Rostopchin  did  not  bring  this 
about,"  exclaimed  Scharnhorst,  "  but  it  was  our 
great  friend  Stein  who  did  it.  God  Himself  sent 
Minister  von  Stein  to  Russia,  that  he  might  stand 
as  an  immovable  rock  by  the  side  of  the  mild  and 
fickle  Alexander,  and  that  his  fiery  soul  might 
strengthen  the  fluctuating  resolutions  of  the  czar, 
and  inspire  him  with  true  faith  in,  and  reliance 
on,  the  great  cause  of  the  freedom  of  the  Euro- 
pean nations,  which  was  now  to  be  decided  upon 
the  snowy  fields  of  Russia.  We  owe  it  to  Stein 
alone  that  the  peace  party  at  the  Russian  head- 
quarters did  not  gain  the  emperor  over  to  their 
side ;  we  owe  it  to  Stein  that  Alexander  deter- 
mined to  pursue  a  manly,  energetic  course ;  that 
he  refused  to  allow  the  diplomatists  to  interfere, 
but  left  the  decision  to  the  sword  alone,  and  con- 
stantly and  proudly  rejected  all  the  offers  of  peace 
which  Napoleon  now  began  to  make  to  him. 
And  Stein  found  a  new  ally  in  the  climate  uniting 
with  him  in  his  inexorable  hostility  to  the  French. 
Napoleon  felt  that  he  ought  not  to  await  the  ap- 
proach of  winter  at  Moscow,  and  on  the  18th  of 
October  he  left  the  inhospitable  city  with  the 
remnants  of  his  army.  But  winter  dogged  his 
steps ;  winter  attached  itself  as  a  heavy  burden 
to  the  feet  of  his  soldiers ;  it  laid  itself  like  lead 
on  their  paralyzed  brain,  and  caused  the  horses, 
guns,  and  caissons,  to  stick  fast  in  the  snow  and 
ice.  Winter  dissolved  the  French  army.  Men 
and  beasts  perished  by  cold ;  discipline  and  sub- 
ordination were  entirely  disregarded;  every  one 
thought  only  of  preserving  his  own  life,  of  ap- 
peasing his  hunger,  and  relieving  his  distress. 
Piles  of  corpses  and  dead  horses  marked  the 
route  of  this  terrible  retreat  of  the  French  ;  and 
when,  on  the  9th  of  November,  they  entered 
Smolensk,  the  whole  grand  army  consisted  only 
of  forty  thousand  armed  men,  and  crowds  of 
stragglers  destitute  of  arms  and  without  disci- 
pline." 

"  And  still  this  cruel  tyrant  and  heartless  brag- 
gart, the  great  Napoleon,  dared  to  boast  of  his 


victories,  and  the  splendid  condition  of  his  aimy," 
exclaimed  Blucher,  angrily.  "  And  he  sent  con- 
stantly new  bulletins  of  pretended  victories  into 
the  world,  and  the  stupid  Germans  believed  them 
to  be  true,  the  supposed  successes  causing  them 
to  tremble.  I  have  read  these  lying  bulletins, 
and  the  perusal  made  me  ill.  They  dwelt  on 
nothing  but  the  victories,  the  glorious  conduct, 
and  the  fine  condition  of  the  grand  army." 

u  But  now  you  shall  read  a  new  one,  friend 
Blucher,"  exclaimed  Scharnhorst;  "here  is  the 
twenty-ninth  bulletin,  and  I  will  communicate  to 
you  also  the  latest  news  from  the  grand  army 
and  the  great  Napoleon,  which  couriers  from  Ber- 
lin and  Dresden  brought  me  last  night,  and  which 
induced  me  to  set  out  so  early  to-day  in  order  to 
reach  my  Blucher,  and  tell  him  of  a  new  era. 
Here  is  the  twenty-ninth  bulletin,  and  in  it  Na- 
poleon dares  no  longer  boast  of  victories ;  he  al- 
most dares  tell  the  truth." 

"  Let  me  read  it ! "  exclaimed  Blucher,  impa- 
tiently seizing  the  printed  sheet  which  Scharn- 
horst handed  to  him.  Gasping  with  inward  emo- 
tion, he  began  to  read  it,  but  his  hands  soon 
trembled,  and  the  letters  swam  before  his  eyes. 

"  I  cannot  read  it  through,"  said  Blucher,  sigh 
ing.  "  There  is  a  storm  raging  in  my  heart,  and 
it  blows  out  the  light  of  my  eyes.  Read  the  re- 
mainder to  me,  my  friend.  I  have  read  it  to  the 
engagement  on  the  Beresina,  where  Napoleon 
says  that  General  Victor  gained  another  victory 
on  the  28th  of  November." 

"But  this  victory  consisted  only  in  the  fact 
that  General  Victor,  with  his  twelve  thousand 
men,  prevented  the  Russians  from  reaching  the 
banks  of  the  Beresina,  so  that  two  bridges  could 
be  built  across  it,  and  that  the  ragged  wretches 
composing  the  grand  army  could  reach  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  river.  That  passage  of  the  Bere- 
sina v\as  a  terrible  moment,  which  will  never  be 
forgotten  by  history — a  tragedy  full  of  horrors, 
wretchedness,  and  despair.  Stein's  agents  have 
sent  me  Russian  reports  of  this  event,  which  con- 
tain the  most  heart-rending  and  revolting  details. 
Books  will  be  written  to  depict  the  dreadful 
scenes  of  that  day;  but  neither  historians,  noi 


THE   OATH 


75 


painters,  nor  poets,  will  find  words  or  colors  to 
portray  those  unparalleled  horrors." 

"  And  does  he  describe  those  scenes  in  his  bul- 
letin ? "  asked  Blucher.  "  Head  me  its  conclu- 
sion. Does  he  allude  to  those  horrors  of  the 
Beresina  ?  " 

"No,  general-  he  speaks  only  of  the  victory 
and  the  passage  across  the  river,  and  then  con- 
tinues :  *  On  the  following  day,  the  29th  of  No- 
vember, we  remained  on  the  battle-field.  We  had 
to  choose  between  two  routes :  the  road  of  Minsk, 
and  that  of  Wilna.  The  road  of  Minsk  passes 
through  the  middle  of  a  forest  and  uncultivated 
morasses ;  that  of  Wilna,  on  the  contrary,  passes 
through  a  very  fine  part  of  the  country.  The 
army,  destitute  of  cavalry,  but  poorly  provided 
with  ammunition,  and  terribly  exhausted  by  the 
fatigues  of  a  fifty  days'  march,  took  with  it  its 
sick  and  wounded,  and  was  anxious  to  reach  its 
magazines.'  " 

"  That  is  to  say,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  "  they 
died  of  hunger,  and,  as  he  says  that  they  were 
terribly  exhausted  by  a  fifty  days'  march,  dropped 
like  flies.  Oh,  it  is  true,  the  Emperor  Napoleon 
is  very  laconic  in  his  account  of  that  retreat,  but 
he  who  knows  how  to  penetrate  the  meaning  of 
his  few  lines  cannot  fail  to  receive  a  deep  impres- 
sion of  the  wretchedness  that  unfortunate  army 
had  to  undergo.  Read  on,  dear  Scharnhorst." 

Scharnhorst  continued :  '"If  it  must  be  admitted 
it  is  necessary  for  the  army  to  reestablish 
discipline,  to  recover  from  its  long  fatigues, 
to  remount  its  cavalry,  artillery,  and  materiel, 
it  is  only  the  natural  result  of  the  events  which 
we  have  just  described.  Repose  is  now,  above  all, 
indispensable  to  the  army.  The  trains  and  horses 
are  already  arriving;  the  artillery  has  repaired  its 
losses,  but  the  generals,  officers,  and  soldiers,  have 
suffered  intensely  by  the  fatigues  and  privations 
of  the  march.  Owing  to  the  loss  of  their  horses, 
many  have  lost  their  baggage ;  others  have  been 
deprived  of  it  by  Cossacks  lying  in  ambush. 
They  have  captured  a  great  many  individuals, 
•uch  as  engineers,  geographers,  and  wounded 
officers,  who  marched  without  the  necessary  pre- 
ons,  and  exposed  themselves  to  the  danger 


i* 

;r, 


of  being  taken  prisoners  rather  than  quietly 
march  m  the  midst  of  the  convoys.' " 

"And  the  Cossacks  have  spared  him!"  ex- 
claimed Blucher,  impatiently.  "  They  did  not 
take  him  prisoner  !  What  is  he  doing,  then,  that 
the  Cossacks  cannot  catch  him  ?  Tell  me,  Scharn- 
horst— the  bulletin,  then,  does  not,  like  its  pred- 
ecessors, dwell  on  the  heroic  exploits  of  the  great 
emperor  ?  He  does  not  praise  himself  as  he  for- 
merly used  to  do  ? " 

"  Oh,  he  does  not  fail  to  do  so.  Listen  to  the 
conclusion :  '  During  all  these  operations  the  em- 
peror marched  constontly  in  the  midst  of  his 
guard,  the  marshal  Duke  d'Istria  commanding 
the  cavalry,  and  the  Duke  de  Dantzic  the  infan- 
try. His  majesty  was  content  with  the  excellent 
spirit  manifested  by  the  guard,  always  ready  to 
march  to  points  where  the  situation  was  such 
that  its  mere  presence  sufficed  to  check  the  ene- 
my. Our  cavalry  lost  so  heavily,  that  it  was  dif- 
ficult to  collect  officers  enough,  who  were  still 
possessed  of  horses,  to  form  four  companies,  each 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  In  these  com- 
panies, generals  performed  the  services  of  cap- 
tains, and  colonels  those  of  non-commissioned  of- 
ficers. The  "  Sacred  Legion,"  commanded  by  the 
King  of  Naples  and  General  Grouchy,  never  lost 
sight  of  the  emperor  during  all  these  operations. 
The  health  of  his  majesty  never  was  better.'  "  * 

"  And  he  dares  to  proclaim  that ! "  exclaimed 
Blucher,  indignantly.  "His  army  is  dying  of 
hunger  and  cold,  and  he  proclaims  to  the  world, 
as  if  in  mockery,  that  his  health  never  was  bet- 
ter !  It  is  his  fault  that  hundreds  of  thousands 
are  perishing  in  the  most  heart-rending  manner, 
and  he  boasts  of  his  extraordinary  good  health  ! 
He  must  have  a  stone  in  his  breast  instead  of  a 
heart;  otherwise,  a  general  whose  army  is  per- 
ishing under  his  eyes  cannot  be  in  extrao-^inary 
good  health.  He  will  be  punished  for  it,  and  will 
not  always  feel  so  well." 

"  He  has  already  been  punished,  my  friend," 
said  Scharnhorst,  solemnly.  "It  has  pleased 
God  to  chastise  the  arrogant  tyrant  and  to  bovr 
his  proud  head  to  the  dust." 


*  F»lH,  u  Manuscrit  de  1812.' 


76 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


Blucher  jumped  up,  and  a  deep  pallor  over- 
spread his  cheeks.  "  He  has  been  punished  ?  " 
he  asked,  breathlessly.  "  Napoleon  in  the  dust ! 
What  is  it  ?  Speak  quickly,  Scharnhorst ;  speak, 
if  you  do  not  want  me  to  die !  What  has  hap- 
pened ?  " 

"  He  has  left  his  army,  and  secretly  Jed  from 
Russia ! " 

Blucher  uttered  a  cry,  and,  without  a  word, 
rushed  toward  the  door.  Scharnhorst  and  Amelia 
hastened  after  him  and  kept  him  back. 

"What  do  you  wish  to  do?"  asked  Scharn- 
horst. 

"  I  wish  to  pursue  him  !  "  exclaimed  Blucher, 
vainly  trying  to  disengage  himself  from  the  hands 
of  his  wife  and  the  general.  "  Let  me  go— do  not 
detain  me  !  I  must  pursue  him — I  must  take  him 
prisoner  !  If  he  has  fled  from  his  army,  he  must 
return  to  France,  and  if  he  wants  to  return  to 
France,  he  must  pass  through  Germany.  Let  me 
go  1  He  must  not  be  permitted  to  escape  from 
Germany ! " 

"But  he  has  already  escaped,"  said  Scharn- 
borst,  smiling. 

"  What !  Passed  through  Germany  ?  "  asked 
Blucher.  "  And  no  one  has  tried  to  arrest  him  ?  " 

"  No  one  knew  that  he  was  there.  He  left  his 
army  on  the  6th  of  December ;  attended  only  by 
Caulaincourt  and  his  Mameluke  Roustan,  recog- 
nized by  no  one,  expected  by  no  one,  he  sped  in 
fabulous  haste  in  an  unpretending  sleigh  through 
the  whole  of  Poland  and  Prussia.  Only  after  he 
set  out  was  it  known  at  the  places  where  he 
stopped  that  he  had  been  there.  He  travelled  as 
swiftly  as  the  storm.  On  the  6th  of  December  he 
was  at  Wilna,  on  the  10th  of  December  at  War- 
saw, aud  in  the  night  of  the  14th  of  December 
suddenly  a  plain  sleigh  stopped  in  front  of  the 
residence  of  M.  Serra,  French  ambassador  at  Dres- 
den :  two  footmen  were  seated  on  the  box,  and 
in  the  sleigh  itself  there  were  two  gentlemen, 
wrapped  in  furred  robes,  and  so  much  benumbed 
by  the  cold  that  they  had  to  be  lifted  out.  These 
two  gentlemen  were  the  Emperor  Napolecn  and 
Caulaincourt.  Napoleon  had  an  interview  with 
the  King  of  Saxony  the  same  night,  and,  con- 


tinuing his  journey,  reached  Erfurt  cc  the  1 5th, 
and—" 

"  And  to-day  is  already  the  17th  of  December,': 
said  Blucher,  sighing;  "he  will,  therefore,  be 
beyond  the  Rhine.  And  I  must  allow  him  to 
escape !  I  am  unable  to  detain  him !  Oh,  that 
the  little  satisfaction  had  been  granted  me  of  cap- 
turing Napoleon  !  Well,  it  has  been  decreed  that 
this  should  not  be ;  but  one  thing  at  least  is 
settled.  Napoleon  has  been  deserted  by  his  for- 
mer good  luck ;  Dame  Fortune,  who  always  was 
seated  in  his  triumphal  car,  has  alighted  from  it, 
and  now  we  may  hope  to  see  her  soon  restored  to 
her  old  place  on  the  top  of  the  Brandenburg  gate 
at  Berlin.  Hurrah,  my  friend !  we  are  going  to 
rise ;  I  feel  it  in  my  bones,  and  the  time  has  come 
when  old  Blucher  will  again  be  permitted  to  be  a 
man,  and  will  no  longer  be  required  to  draw  his 
nightcap  over  his  ears." 

"  Yes,  the  time  has  come  when  Prussia  needs 
her  valiant  Blucher,"  said  Scharnhorst,  tenderly 
laying  his  arm  on  Blucher's.  "  Now  raise  your 
head,  general — now  prepare  for  action,  for  Blucher 
must  henceforth  be  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to 
obey  the  call  of  Prussia,  and  place  himself  at  th.j 
head  of  her  brave  sons,  who  are  so  eager  for  th 
fray." 

"  Yes,  yes,  we  shall  have  war  now,"  exclaim 
Blucher.  "  Soon  the  drums  will  roll,  and  the 
cannon  boom — soon  Blucher  will  no  longer  be  a 
childish  and  decrepit  old  man  whom  wiseacres 
think  they  can  mock  and  laugh  at — soon  Blucher 
will  once  more  be  a  man  who,  sword  in  hand, 
will  shout  to  his  troops,  '  Forward  ! — charge  the 
enemy ! '  Great  Heaven,  Scharnhorst,  and  I  have 
not  even  dressed  becomingly — I  still  wear  a  miser, 
able  civilian's  coat !  Suppose  war  should  break 
out  to-day,  and  they  should  come  and  call  me  to 
the  army  ?  Why,  Blucher  would  have  to  hang 
his  head  in  shame,  and  acknowledge  that  he  was 
not  ready ! — John  !  John ! — my  uniform  !  Com. 
to  my  bedroom,  John !  I  want  to  dress  ! — to  pu* 
on  my  uniform !  " 

Fifteen  minutes  afterward  Blucher  returned  tc 
the  sitting-room,  where  his  wife  was  gayly  chat 
ting  with  Scharnhorst.  He  was  not  now  the  sick. 


••  • 

t 


I  swear  to  3011,  Q,ueen  Louisa,  that  I  will  not  shea i hi-  Ibis  sword  before  I  have  avenged  your  cleail.  " 

p.  77. 


THE   OATH. 


77 


suffering  old  man  whom  we  saw  this  morning 
pitting  on  the  easy-chair  at  the  window,  but  he 
was  once  more  a  fiery  soldier  and  i  hero.  His 
head  was  proudly  erect,  his  eyes  were  flashing,  a 
proud  smile  was  playing  round  his  lips ;  his 
broad-shouldered  form  was  clothed  in  the  uniform 
of  a  Prussian  general ;  orders  were  glittering  on 
his  breast,  and  the  long  rattling  sword  hung  at 
his  left  side. 

Bluchor  approached  his  wife  and  General 
Scharnhorst  with  dignified  steps,  and,  giving  his 
hands  to  both,  said  in  a  grave  and  solemn  voice, 
"  The  time  for  delay,  impatience,  and  folly,  is 
past.  With  this  uniform  I  have  become  a  new 
man.  I  am  no  longer  an  impatient  septuagena- 
rian, cursing  and  killing  flies  on  the  wall  because 
he  has  no  one  else  on  whom  to  vent  his  wrath  ;  but 
I  am  a  soldier  standing  composedly  at  his  post, 
and  waiting  for  the  hour  when  he  will  be  able  to 
destroy  his  enemy.  Come,  my  friends,— come 
with  me!" 

He  drew  the  two  with  him,  and  walked  so 
rapidly  through  the  rooms  that  they  were  scarcely 
able  to  accompany  him.  They  entered  the  large 
reception-room,  opened  only  on  festive  occasions. 
It  contained  nothing  but  some  tinselled  furniture, 

few  tables  with  marble  tops,  and  on  the  pil- 
irs  between  the  windows  large  Venetian  mir- 
rors. Otherwise  the  walls  were  bare,  except  over 
the  sofa,  where  hung,  in  a  finely-carved  and  gilded 
frame,  a  painting,  which  however  was  covered 
with  a  large  veil  of  black  crape. 

Blucher  conducted  the  two  to  this  painting ; 
for  a  moment  he  stood  still  and  gazed  on  it  grave- 
ly and  musingly,  and,  raising  hi^  right  hand  with 
a  quick  jerk,  he  tore  down  the  mourning-veil. 

"Queen  Louisa!"  exclaimed  Scharnhorst,  ad- 
miring tht-  t;ill  and  beautiful  la  ly  ?miling  on  him. 


"  Yes,"  said  Blucher,  solemnly,  "  Queen  Lou- 
isa !  The  guardian  angel  of  Prussia^  whose  heart 
Napoleon  broke !  This  pride  and  joy  of  all  our 
women  had  to  depart  without  hoping  even  in  the 
possibility  that  the  calamities  which  ruined  her 
might  come  to  an  end.  On  the  day  she  died  I 
covered  her  portrait  with  this  veil,  and  swore  not 
to  look  again  at  her  adored  countenance  until 
able  to  draw  my  sword,  and,  with  Prussia's  sol- 
diers, avenge  her  untimely  death.  The  time  has 
come !  Louisa,  rise  again  from  your  grave,  open 
once  more  your  beautiful  eyes,  for  daylight  is  at 
hand,  and  our  night  is  ended.  Now,  my  beauti- 
ful queen,  listen  to  the  oath  of  your  most  faithful 
servant ! "  He  drew  his  sword,  and,  raising  it  up 
to  the  painting,  exclaimed :  "  Here  is  my  sword  ! 
When  I  sheathed  it  last,  I  wept,  for  I  was  to  be 
an  invalid,  and  should  no  longer  wield  it ;  I  was 
to  sit  here  in  idleness,  and  silently  witness  the 
sufferings  of  my  fatherland.  But  now  I  shall 
soon  be  called  into  service,  and  I  swear  to  you, 
Queen  Louisa,  that  I  will  not  sheathe  this  sword 
before  I  have  avenged  your  death,  before  Ger- 
many and  Prussia  are  free  again,  and  Napoleon 
has  received  his  punishment.  I  swear  it  to  you, 
as  sure  as  I  am  old  Blucher,  and  have  seen  the 
tears  which  Prussia's  disgrace  has  often  wrung 
from  your  eyes.  May  God  help  me !  may  He  in 
His  mercy  spare  me  until  I  have  fulfilled  my  oath  ! 
Amen ! " 

"  Amen  ! "  repeated  Scharnhorst  and  Amelia, 
looking  up  to  the  portrait. 

"  Amen ! "  said  Blucher  again.  "  And  now, 
Amelia,"  he  added,  quickly,  "come  and  give  me 
a  kiss,  and,  by  this  kiss,  consecrate  your  warrior, 
that  he  may  deliver  Germany  and  overthrow  Nap 
poleon.  For  Napoleon  must  now  be  hurled  from 
the  throne  1 " 


CHANCELLOR  VON  HARDENBERG. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE     INTERRUPTED     SUPPER. 

IT  was  on  the  4th  of  January,  1813.  The  bril- 
liant official  festivities  with  which  the  beginning 
of  a  new  year  had  been  celebrated,  were  at  an 
end,  and,  the  ceremonious  dinner-parties  being 
over,  one  was  again  at  liberty  to  indulge  in  the 
enjoyment  of  familiar  suppers,  where  more  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  the  flavor  of  choice  wines  and 
delicacies  than  to  official  toasts  and  political 
speeches.  Marshal  Augereau  gave  at  Berlin  on 
this  day  one  of  those  pleasant  little  entertain- 
ments to  his  favored  friends,  to  indemnify  them, 
as  it  were,  for  the  great  gala  dinner  of  a  hundred 
covers,  given  by  him  on  the  1st  of  January,  as 
official  representative  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon. 

To-day  the  supper  was  served  in  the  small,  cozy 
saloon,  and  it  was  but  a  petit  comite  that  assembled 
round  the  table  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  This 
comii6  consisted  only  of  five  gentlemen,  with 
pleasant,  smiling  faces,  in  gorgeous,  profusely- 
embroidered  uniforms,  on  the  left  sides  of  which 
many  glittering  orders  indicated  the  high  rank  of 
the  small  company.  There  was,  in  the  first  place, 
Marshal  Augereau,  governor  of  Berlin,  once  so 
furious  a  republican  that  he  threatened  with  death 
all  the  members  of  his  division  who  would  ad- 
dress any  one  with  "  monsieur,"  or  "  madame  " — 
now  the  most  ardent  imperialist,  and  an  admirer 
of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  The  gentleman  by 
his  side,  with  the  short,  corpulent  figure  and 
aristocratic  countenance,  from  which  a  smile 


never  disappeared,  was  the  chancellor  of  state 
and  prime  minister  of  King  Frederick  William  III., 
Baron  von  Hardenberg.  He  was  just  engaged 
in  an  eager  conversation  with  his  neighbor, 
Count  Narbonne,  the  faithless  renegade  and 
former  adherent  of  the  Bourbons,  who  had  but 
lately  deserted  to  Napoleon's  camp,  and  allowed 
himself  to  be  used  by  the  emperor  on  various  dip- 
lomatic missions.  Next  to  him  sat  Prince  Hatz- 
feld,  the  man  on  whom,  in  1807,  Napoleon's  an- 
ger had  fallen,  and  who  would  have  been  shot  as 
a  "  traitor  "  if  the  impassioned  intercession  of  his 
wife  had  not  succeeded  in  softening  the  emperor, 
and  thus  saving  her  husband's  life.  Near  him, 
and  closing  the  circle,  sat  Count  St.  Marsan,  Na- 
poleon's ambassador  at  the  court  of  Prussia. 

These  five  gentlemen  had  already  been  at  the 
table  for  several  hours,  and  were  now  in  that 
comfortable  and  agreeable  mood  which  epicures 
feel  when  they  have  found  the  numerous  courses 
palatable  and  piquant,  the  Hock  sufficiently  cold, 
the  Burgundy  sufficiently  warm,  the  oysters  fresh, 
and  the  truffles  well-flavored.  They  had  got  as 
far  as  the  roast ;  the  pheasants,  with  their  deli- 
cate sauce,  filled  the  room  with  an  appetizing 
odor,  and  the  corks  of  the  champagne-bottles 
gave  loud  reports,  as  if  by  way  of  salute  fired  in 
honor  of  the  triumphant  entry  of  Pleasure. 

Marshal  Augereau  raised  his  glass.  "  I  drink 
this  in  honor  of  our  emperor !  "  he  exclaimed,  in 
an  enthusiastic  tone.  The  gentlemen  touched 
each  other's  glasses,  and  the  three  representatives 
of  France  then  emptied  theirs  at  one  draught 


TIIE   INTERRUPTED   SUPPER. 


79 


Prince  Hatzfeld  followed  their  example,  but  Baron 
von  Uardenberg  only  touched  the  brim  of  his 
glass  with  his  lips,  and  put  it  down  again. 

"  Your  excellency  does  not  drink  ?  "  asked 
Augereau.  "  Then  you  are  not  in  earnest  ?  " 

"Yes,  marshal,  I  am  in  earnest,"  said  Harden- 
berg,  smiling,  "  but  you  used  a  word  which  pre- 
vented me  from  emptying  my  glass.  You  said, 
1  In  honor  of  our  emperor ! '  Now,  I  am  the  de- 
voted and,  I  may  well  say,  faithful  servant  of  ray 
master,  King  Frederick  William,  and  therefore  I 
cannot  call  the  great  Napoleon  my  emperor." 

"  Oh,  I  used  a  wrong  expression,"  exclaimed 
Augereau,  hastily.  "  Let  us  fill  our  glasses  anew, 
and  drink  this  time  '  the  health  of  the  great  em- 
peror Napoleon ! '  "  He  touched  glasses  with  the 
chancellor  of  state,  and  then  fixed  his  keen  eyes 
upon  the  minister. 

Baron  von  Hardenberg  raised  the  glass  to  his 
lips,  but  then  withdrew  it  again,  and,  bowing 
smilingly  to  Marshal  Augereau,  said :  "  Permit 
me,  marshal,  to  add  something  to  your  toast. 
Let  us  drink  '  the  health  of  the  great  emperor, 
and  a  long  and  prosperous  alliance  with  Prus- 


«t 

„ 


'And  a  long  and  prosperous   alliance  with 
ssia,' "  repeated  the  four  gentlemen,  emptying 
their  glasses,  and  resuming  their  chairs. 

"We  have  just  drunk  to  the  success  of  our 
divulged  secret,"  said  Prince  Hatzfeld,  smiling. 
"  For  I  suppose,  your  excellency,"  turning,  to 
Baron  von  HarJenberg,  "  this  new  happy  alliance 
between  Prussia  and  France  is  now  not  much  of 
a  secret  ?  " 

"I  hope  it  will  soon  be  no  secret  at  all,"  said 
Hardenberg.  "Prussia  has  received  the  propo- 
sition of  France  with  heart-felt  joy,  and  will  hail 
the  marriage  of  her  crown  prince  Frederick  Wil- 
liam as  the  happiest  guaranty  of  an  indissoluble 
union.  Only  the  crown  prince  is  too  young  as 
yet  to  marry,  and  at  the  present  time,  at  . 
allusions  to  the  happiness  of  his  future  should  be 
avoided.  His  thoughts  should  belong  only  to  God 
and  religion,  for  you  know,  gentlemen,  that  the 
crown  prince  will  be  solemnly  confirmed  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days.  Only  after  he  has  pledged 


his  soul  to  God  will  it  be  time  for  him  to  pledge 
his  heart  to  love;  only  then  communications  will 
be  made  to  him  as  to  the  brilliant  future  that  is 
opening  for  him,  and,  no  doubt,  he  will,  like  the 
king,  be  ready  to  bind  even  more  firmly  the  lies 
uniting  Prussia  with  France.  He  will  be  proud 
to  receive  for  a  consort  a  princess  of  the  house 
of  Napoleon,  for  such  a  marriage  will  render  him 
a  relative  of  the  greatest  prince  of  his  century ! " 

"  Of  a  prince  whom  Heaven  loves  above  all 
others,  as  it  lavishes  upon  him  greater  prosperity 
than  upon  others,"  exclaimed  Prince  Hatzfield, 
emphatically.  "  God's  love  is  visibly  with  him, 
and  protects  His  favorite.  Who  but  he  would 
have  been  able  to  overcome  the  terrible  dangers 
of  the  Russian  campaign,  and,  with  an  eagle's 
flight,  return  to  France  from  the  snowy  deserts 
of  Russia,  without  losing  a  single  plume  of  his 
wings  ?  " 

"It  is  true,"  responded  Augereau,  thoughtfully. 
"  Fortune,  or,  if  you  prefer,  Providence,  is  with 
the  emperor ;  it  protects  him  in  all  dangers,  and 
allows  him  to  issue  victoriously  from  all  storms. 
In  Russia  he  was  in  danger  of  ruining  his  glory 
and  his  army,  but  the  battle  of  Borodino,  and 
still  more  that  on  the  banks  of  the  Beresina, 
saved  his  laurels.  The  emperor  travelled  deserted 
roads,  without  an  escort  or  protection,  through 
Poland  and  Germany,  in  order  to  return  to  France. 
If  he  had  been  recognized,  perhaps  it  might  have 
entered  the  heads  of  some  enthusiasts  to  attack 
and  capture  him  on  his  solitary  journey ;  but  the 
eyes  of  his  enemies  seemed  to  have  been  blinded. 
The  emperor  was  not  recognized,  and  appeared 
suddenly  in  Paris,  where  the  greatest  excitement, 
consternation,  and  confusion,  were  prevailing  at 
that  moment.  For  Paris  had  just  then  been  pro- 
foundly moved  by  the  deplorable  conspiracy  of 
General  Mallet,  and  the  Parisians  were  asking 
e;uh  other  in  dismay  whether  General  Ma  lief, 
mhht  not  have  been  right  after  all  in  announcing 
that  Napoleon  was  dead,  and  whether  his  death 
was  not  kept  a  secret  merely  from  motives  of 
policy.  Suddenly  Napoleon  appeared  hi  the 
streets  of  Paris.  All  rushed  out  to  behold  the 
emperor,  or  touch  his  horse,  body,  hands,  or  feet, 


80 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


to  look  into  his  eyes,  to  hear  his  voice,  and  satisfy 
themselves  that  it  was  really  Napoleon — not  an 
apparition.  Their  cheers  rang,  and,  in  their  hap- 
piness at  seeing  him  again  hi  their  midst,  they 
pardoned  him  for  having  left  their  sons  and 
brothers,  fathers  and  husbands,  as  frozen  corpses 
on  the  plains  of  Russia.  Never  before  had  Napo- 
leon enjoyed  a  greater  triumph  as  on  the  day  of 
his  return  from  the  Russian  campaign.  Fortune 
is  the  goddess  chained  to  the  emperor's  triumphal 
car,  and  the  nations  therefore  would  act  very 
foolishly  if  they  dared  rise  against  him." 

"  Happily,  they  have  given  up  all  such  schemes," 
said  Hardenberg,  smiling,  and  quietly  cutting  the 
pheasant's  wing  on  his  silver  plate.  "  They  are 
asking  and  longing  only  for  peace  in  order  to 
dress  their  wounds,  cultivate  their  fields,  and 
peaceably  reap  the  harvest." 

"  And  the  word  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  is  a 
pledge  to  nations  that  they  shall  be  enabled  to  do 
so,"  exclaimed  St.  Marson.  "He  wants  peace, 
and  is  ready  to  make  every  sacrifice  to  conclude 
and  maintain  it." 

"  The  German  princes,  of  course,  will  joyously 
offer  him  their  hands  for  that  purpose,"  said 
Hardenberg,  bowing  his  bead.  "  In  truth,  I  could 
not  say  at  what  point  of  Germany  war  could 
break  out  at  this  juncture.  The  princes  of  the 
German  Confederation  of  the  Rhine  have  long 
since  acknowledged  the  Emperor  of  the  French 
as  their  master,  and  themselves  as  his  obedient 
vassals.  Powerful  Austria  has  allied  herself  with 
France  bv  the  ties  of  a  marriage,  and  the  hands 
of  Maria  Louisa  and  Napoleon  are  stretched  out 
in  blessii  g  over  the  two  countries.  Poor  Prussia 
has  not  only  proved  her  fidelity  as  an  ally  of 
France,  but  is  now,  forgetful  of  all  her  former 
humiliations,  ready  to  consent  to  a  marriage 
of  her  future  king  with  a  Napoleonic  princess. 
Whence,  then,  could  come  a  cause  for  a  new  war 
between  France  and  Germany  ?  We  shall  have 
peace,  doubtless — a  long  and  durable  peace !  " 

"  And  that  will  be  very  fortunate,"  said  Count 
Narbonne,  "  for  then  it  will  no  longer  be  neces- 
sary for  us  to  allow  miserable  politics  to  poison 
our  suppers.  '  Politics,'  said  my  great  royal  pa- 


tron, King  Louis  XVI.,  the  worthy  uncle  of  the 
Emperor  Napoleon,  'politics  know  nothing  of 
the  culinary  art ;  they  spoil  all  dishes,  and  care, 
therefore,  ought  to  be  taken  not  to  allow  them  to 
enter  the  kitchen  or  the  dining-room.  One  must 
not  admit  them  even  directly  after  eating,  for  they 
interfere  with  digestion;  only  during  the  morn- 
ing hours  should  audiences  be  given  to  them,  for 
then  they  may  serve  as  Spanish  pepper,  imparting 
a  flavor  to  one's  breakfast.'  That  was  a  very  saga- 
cious remark ;  I  feel  it  at  this  moment  when  you 
so  cruelly  sprinkle  politics  over  this  splendid 
pheasant." 

"  You  are  right,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  laugh- 
ing, "I  therefore  beg  your  excellency's  pardon ; 
for  Spanish  pepper,  which  is  very  palatable  in 
Cumberland  sauce,  and  a  few  other  dishes,  is 
surely  entirely  out  of  place  when  mixed  with 
French  truffles." 

"  Unhappy  man,"  exclaimed  Narbonne,  with 
ludicrous  pathos,  "you  are  again  talking  politics, 
and  moreover  of  the  worst  sort !  " 

"  How  so  ?  "  asked  Count  St.  Marson.  "  What 
displeases  you  in  the  remarks  of  Minister  voi 
Hardenberg  ?  " 

"  Well,  did  you  not  notice  that  his  e^cellenc) 
alluded  to  our  unsuccessful  efforts  in  Spain- 
Spanish  pepper,  he  said,  is  surely  entirely  out  o/ 
place  when  mixed  with  French  truffles,  but  ver; 
palatable  in  English  sauces.  That  is  to  say  \ 
Spaui  and  England  are  good  allies,  and  Spain  an& 
France  will  never  be  reconciled.  And  it  is  true, 
it  is  a  mortal  war  which  Spain  is  waging  against 
us,  and  unfortunately  one  which  offers  us  but  few 
chances  of  success.  The  Spaniards  contest  every 
inch  of  ground  with  the  most  dogged  obstinacy, 
and  they  have  found  very  valuable  auxiliaries 
in  Lord  Wellington  and  his  English  troops. 
They—" 

"  Ah,  my  dear  count,"  exclaimed  Marshal  Au- 
gereau,  smiling,  "  now  it  is  you  who  talk  politics, 
and  it  behooves  you  no  longer  to  accuse  us." 

"  You  are  right,  and  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said 
Narbonne ;  "  but  you  see  how  true  the  old  prov- 
erb proves:  'Bad  examples  spoil  good  manners.' 
Let  us  talk  no  longer  about  pepper,  but  truffles. 


THK   INTERRUPTED   SUPPER. 


81 


t 

I 


Just  compare  this  truffle  from  P6rigord  with  the 
Italian  truffle  at  the  entremets,  and  you  will  have 
to  admit  that  our  Perigord  truffle  is  in  every  re- 
spect superior  to  the  latter.  It  is  more  savory 
and  piquant.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  it  that 
Perigord  furnishes  the  most  palatable  fruit  to  the 
world." 

"  What  fruit  do  you  allude  to,"  asked  Harden- 
berg,  smiling.  "Do  you  refer  to  the  P6rigord 
truffle,  or  to  the  Abbot  of  P6rigord,  the  great 
Talleyrand  ?  " 

"  I  see  you  are  lost  beyond  redemption,"  said 
Narbonne,  sighing,  while  the  other  gentlemen 
burst  into  "laughter.  "  Even  in  the  face  of  a 
truffle  you  still  dare  to  amuse  yourself  with  polit- 
ical puns,  and  confound  intentionally  an  abbot 
with  a  truffle!  Oh,  what  a  blasphemy  against 
the  finest  of  all  fruits — I  allude,  of  course,  to  the 
truffle — oh,  it  is  treason  committed — " 

Just  then  the  door  of  the  saloon  was  hastily 
opened,  and  the  first  secretary  of  the  French  em- 
bassy entered  the  room. 

"  What,  sir ! "  shouted  Count  St.  Marsan  to  him, 
u  you  come  to  disturb  me  here  ?  Some  important 
event,  then,  has  taken  place  ?  " 

The  secretary  approached  him  hurriedly.  "  Yes, 
your  excellency,"  he  said,  "  highly  important  and 
urgent  dispatches  have  arrived.  They  come  from 
the  army,  and  an  aide-de-camp  of  Marshal  Mac- 
donald  is  their  bearer.  He  has  travelled  night 
and  day  to  reach  your  excellency  at  an  earlier 
moment  than  the  courier  whom  General  von 
York  no  doubt  has  sent  to  the  King  of  Prussia. 
Here  are  the  dispatch-^  which  the  aide-de-camp 
of  the  marshal  has  brought  for  you,  and  which 
he  says  ought  immediately  to  be  read  by  your 
excellency."  He  handed  the  count  a  large  sealed 
letter,  which  the  latter  eagerly  aceepto  1  and  at 
once  opened. 

A.  profound  silence  iv.w  n-igned   in  tho  small 
•  n.     The  faces  of  the  boon  companions  at 
the  table  had  grown  grave,   and  all   fixed   their 
eyes  with  an    anxiou-  '-'ing  expn 

upon  the  countenance  ot  m.     He 

read  the  dispatch  at  fust  \\ith  a  calm  and  indif- 
ferent air,  but  suddenly  ;-ned  an 


expression  of  astonishment — naj ,  of  anger,  and  a 
gloomy  cloud  covered  his  brow. 

"  All  right,"  he  then  said,  turning  to  the  sec- 
retary. "  Return  to  the  legation.  I  will  follow 
you  in  a  few  minutes."  The  secretary  bowed  and 
withdrew.  The  five  gentlemen  were  again  alone. 

"Well,"  asked  Marshal  Augereau,  "were  the 
dispatches  really  important  ?  " 

Count  St.  Marsan  made  no  immediate  reply. 
He  looked  slowly  around  the  circle  of  his  com- 
panions, and  fixed  his  eyes  with  a  piercing  ex- 
pression on  the  countenance  of  Chancellor  von 
Hardenberg.  "Yes,"  he  said,  "they  contain 
highly  important  news,  and  I  wonder  if  his  ex- 
cellency the  chancellor  of  state  has  not  yet  re- 
ceived them,  for  the  dispatches  concern  above  all 
the  Prussian  army." 

"  But  I  pledge  your  excellency  my  word  of 
honor  that  I  do  not  know  what  you  refer  to," 
said  Hardenberg,  gravely.  "  I  have  received  no 
courier  and  no  startling  news  from  the  Prussian 
army." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  St.  Marsan,  bowing,  "  per- 
mit me  to  communicate  it  to  you.  General  York, 
commander  of  the  Prussian  troops  belonging  to 
the  forces  of  Marshal  Macdonald,  has  refused  to 
obey  the  marshal's  orders.  He  has  gone  even 
further  than  that,  concluding  a  treaty  with  Russia, 
with  the  enemy  of  France  and  Prussia ;  and  signed 
at  Tauroggen,  with  the  Russian  General  von  Die- 
bitsch,  a  convention  by  virtue  of  which  he  severs 
his  connection  with  the  French  army,  and,  with 
the  consent  of  Russia,  declares  that  the  Prussian 
corps  henceforth  will  be  neutral." 

"  But  that  is  impossible,"  exclaimed  Harden- 
berg, "  he  would  not  dare  any  thing  of  the  kind  ; 
he  would  not  violate  in  so  flagrant  a  manner  the 
orders  given  him  by  his  king  !  " 

"  But  he  did  so,"  said  Augereau,  "  and  if  your 
'(  ncy  should  have  any  doubts  as  to  the  truth 
of  what  Count  St.  Marsan  said,  here  is  the  auto- 
•rraph  letter  in  which  General  von  York  informs 
Ma-shal  Macdonald  of  his  defection  ;  and,  besides, 
another  letter  in  which  the  commander  of  the 
cavalry,  General  von  Massenbach,  notifies  Mar- 
shal  Macdonald  that  he  has  acceded  to  York's 


82 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


convention,  and  henceforth  will  no  longer  obey 
the  marshal's  orders.  Conformably  to  this  con- 
vention, the  Prussian  troops  have  already  left  the 
positions  assigned  them  by  Marshal  Macdonald, 
and  returned  to  Prussian  territory." 

"  It  is  true ;  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  it,"  said 
Hardenberg,  with  a  deep  sigh,  and  handing  back 
to  the  marshal  the  papers  which  he  had  rapidly 
glanced  over.  He  then  rose  from  his  chair  and 
said:  "This  is  so  unparalleled  and  unexpected  an 
event,  that  I  am  at  the  present  moment  almost 
unable  to  collect  my  thoughts.  You  will  pardon 
me,  therefore,  for  leaving  you  ;  above  all,  I  have 
to  inform  his  majesty,  the  king,  of  this  important 
intelligence,  and  receive  his  orders  in  regard  to  it. 
But  then  I  beg  leave  to  see  Count  St.  Marson 
at  his  residence,  to  confer  with  him  as  to  the 
measures  to  be  taken  concerning  this  terrible 
event." 

"  I  will  await  you  at  whatever  hour  of  the  night 
it  may  be,"  said  Count  St.  Marsan  ;  "  I  am  now 
about  to  return  to  my  residence." 

"  And  I  to  the  king  ! "  exclaimed  Hardenberg, 
taking  leave. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE   DEFECTION    OF   GENERAL   YORK. 

KINO  FREDERICK  WILLIAM  had  just  returned  to 
his  cabinet  after  attending  to  the  last  business, 
which  he  never  neglected  to  perform  on  any  day 
of  the  year ;  that  is  to  say,  he  had  repaired  to  the 
bedrooms  of  his  children,  and  bidden  the  little 
sleepers  "good-night"  by  gently  kissing  them. 
In  former  times  he  did  this  by  the  side  of  his 
wife,  with  a  happy  heart  and  a  smiling  face ;  it 
had  been,  as  it  were,  the  last  seal  both  pressed, 
at  the  close  of  every  day  of  their  common  happi- 
ness, upon  the  foreheads  of  their  sleeping  chil- 
dren. But  since  Louisa  had  left  him,  to  bid  this 
"good-niglit"  had  become,  as  it  were,  a  sacred 
pilgrimage  to  his  most  precious  recollections. 
When  he  passed  through  the  silent  corridors  at 


night,  and  entered  the  rooms  of  his  sons  and 
daughters,  he  thought  of  her  who  had  left  him 
three  years  before,  but  whom  he  believed  he  saw, 
with  her  sweet  smile  and  loving  eyes.  He  took 
pains  to  remind  such  of  his  children  as  he  found 
awake  of  their  dear  departed  parent,  whispering 
to  them,  "  Remember  your  noble  mother,  whose 
eyes  behold  you."  And  on  the  lips  of  those 
asleep  he  never  failed  to  press  two  kisses — one 
for  himself  and  the  other  for  Louisa. 

The  king  had  just  returned  to  his  cabinet,  and, 
like  a  dying  glimmer  of  twilight,  a  faint  smile 
was  illuminating  his  countenance,  which,  since 
the  queen's  death,  had  grown  grave  and  sad.  He 
seated  himself  on  the  sofa  where  she  had  so  often 
sat  by  his  side,  and  cast  a  mournful  glance  upon 
the  vacant  place  beside  him.  "  Alone !  Always 
alone  ! "  he  said  in  a  low  voice.  "  Nothing  around 
me  but  intrigues,  quarrels,  and  malice  !  No  one 
who  loves  me !  Alone  I "  With  a  quick  motion 
he  turned  his  head  toward  the  side  of  the  wall 
where  hung  over  his  desk  the  portrait  of  Queen 
Louisa,  in  her  white  dress,  and  a  rose  on  her 
bosom.  "  Where  are  you,  then,  Louisa ! "  he  ex- 
claimed ;  "  why  did  you  leave  me,  though  you 
had  sworn  to  bear  joy  and  grief  with  me  ?  You 
are  not  here  to  share  them,  and — "  Suddenly 
the  king  paused  and  turned  his  eyes  toward  the 
door.  It  seemed  to  him  as  though  he  heard 
hasty  footsteps,  and  some  one  softly  rapping  at 
his  door.  Who,  at  this  unusual  hour,  could  ask 
for  admittance  ?  Who  could  dare  now  interrupt 
his  solitude,  when  it  was  well  understood  he  de 
sired  to  be  left  alone  ? 

The  rapping  was  repeated,  louder  than  before, 
and  a  timid,  imploring  voice  asked,  "  Has  hia 
majesty  returned  to  his  cabinet?" 

"  It  is  Timrn,  my  chamberlain,"  said  the  king. 
"  What  can  he  want  of  me  ?  " 

Ordering  him  in  a  loud  tone  to  walk  in,  the 
door  was  immediately  opened,  and  the  chamber- 
lain appeared  on  the  threshold.  "Pardon  me, 
sire,"  he  said,  "  but  his  excellency  Chancellor  von 
Hardeuberg  is  in  the  anteroom,  and  urgently  re- 
quests your  majesty  to  grant  him  an  immediate 
audience." 


TUE  DEFECTION  OF  GENERAL    YORK. 


83 


u  Hardeuberg ! "  exclaimed  the  king,  anxiously. 
M  What  has  happened ;  what—"  He  interrupted 
himself:  "  I  will  see  the  chancellor.  Admit  him 
at  once." 

The  chamberlain  withdrew.  The  king  arose 
and  advanced  several  steps  toward  the  door ; 
then,  as  if  ashamed  of  his  own  impatience,  he 
stopped,  while  his  face  expressed  the  agitation  of 
his  mind. 

Hardenberg  entered,  and,  closing  the  door  rap- 
idly, approached  the  king.  "  Your  majesty," 
he  said,  "  I  beg  pardon  for  daring  to  disturb  you 
at  so  late  an  hour ;  but  the  extraordinary  im- 
portance of  the  news  I  bring  to  you  will  be  my 
excuse.  I  was  at  the  supper-table  of  Marshal 
Augereau,  in  company  with  the  French  ambas- 
sador, Count  St.  Marsan,  when  important  dis- 
patches, just  arrived  from  the  army,  were  de- 
livered to  the  ambassador." 

"  A  battle  has  been  fought,  has  it  not  ?  Has  my 
corps  been  routed  ?  "  asked  the  king,  breathlessly. 

"  No,  your  majesty,  there  has  been  no  battle. 
A  much  more  extraordinary  event  has  taken  place, 
General  von  York  has  concluded  a  convention 
with  the  Russian  General  Diebitsch,  and  signed  a 
treaty  by  which  the  troops  commanded  by  York 
separate  from  the  French,  and  engage  to  remain 
neutral  for  two  months." 

"  That  is  not  tnie !  "  exclaimed  the  king.  "  A 
mere  rumor  ! — an  impossibility  !  " 

"  Your  majesty,  it  is  but  too  true.  I  myself 
have  read  the  autograph  letters  in  which  Generals 
York  and  Massenbach  inform  Marshal  Macdonald 
of  their  resolution  not  to  obey  his  orders  longer." 

The  king  pressed  his  hands  against  his  temple, 
md  exclaimed,  in  a  tremulous  voice :  "  Oh,  this  is 
enough  to  throw  one  into  a  state  of  apoplexy  !  * 
It  is  unheard  of,  contrary  to  military  law,  con- 
trary to  all  international  obligations!  It  is  open 
rebellion,  revolutionary  resistance  to  his  king  and 
commandt.T-iu-chU-f  !  A  general  who  dares  com- 
mit so  terrible  a  crime  must  be  tried  by  court- 
martial,  and  sentence  of  death  passed  upon  him. 


I  cannot  pardon  him  ! 


•  The  king's  own  words.— Vide  Droysen'i  "Life  of 
York,"  vol.  ii ,  p.  86. 


1OTK,      VOI.  11. 


"  Your  majesty,"  said  Hardenberg,  in  dismay, 
"  it  is  possible  that  General  York  may  have  com- 
mitted a  crime  against  discipline,  but,  neverthe- 
;t  is  an  heroic  and  magnanimous  deed,  and 
no  Prussian  court-martial  will  dare  inflict  punish- 
ment on  him.  We  do  not  yet  know  the  urgent 
circumstances  obliging  the  general  to  make  this 
decision  ;  we  do  not  yet  know  from  what  dangers 
he  may  have  preserved  the  Prussian  army  by  his 
quick  and  resolute  step." 

"  But  we  know  that  he  has  committed  an  un- 
paralleled crime  against  discipline ! " 

"  A  crime  by  which  he  may  perhaps  have  saved 
Prussia  from  utter  destruction  !  The  general  will 
be  able  to  justify  his  deed." 

"  But  it  seems  that  he  does  not  even  deem  it 
necessary  to  inform  me  of  -his  proceedings,"  ex- 
claimed the  king,  indignantly.  "He  appears  to 
have  made  himself  dictator,  and  as  he  does  not 
recognize  my  military  laws,  he  refuses  also  to 
acknowledge  me  as  commander-in-cbief,  to  whom 
he  owes  obedience." 

"  Your  majesty,  I  believe  there  is  his  justifica 
tion  already,"  said  Hardenberg,  pointing  at  Timra 
the  chamberlain,  who  reentered  the  room  at  thia 
moment. 

"Well,  what  is  it,  Timm?"  asked  the  king, 
hastily. 

"Your  majesty,  a  courier  from  General  von 
York  has  just  arrived;  he  is  bearer  of  dis- 
patches, which  he  is  to  deliver  to  your  majesty 
in  person." 

"  Who  is  the  courier  ?  "  asked  the  king. 

"The  general's  aide-de-camp,  Major  Thile." 

"  Let  him  come  in,"  said  the  king. 

The  jingle  of  spurs,  and  heavy,  weary  footsteps 
were  heard  approaching ;  Major  von  Thile  entered. 
His  uniform  was  covered  with  dust  and  mud;  his 
hair  hung  in  wet  locks  upon  his  forehead,  and 
there  shone  in  his  mustache  the  snow-flakes  with 
which  the  stormy  night  had  adorned  it. 

"Did  you  arrive  now  ?  "  asked  the  king,  eying 
him  closely. 

"  I  did,  your  majesty,  and,  agreeably  to  the 
orders  of  General  von  York,  have  had  myself 
driven  directly  to  the  royal  palace,  for  the  general 


84 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


deemed  it  of  the  highest  importance  that  I  should 
deliver  my  dispatches  as  soon  as  possible  to  your 
majesty.  Hence  I  rode  night  and  day,  and,  my 
horse  breaking  down  to-day,  I  was  obliged  to 
take  a  carriage." 

"  But  the  French  courier  reached  Berlin  earlier 
than  you  did,"  said  the  king,  gruffly.  "  How 
does  that  happen  ?  Have  the  French  quicker 
horses  or  more  devoted  soldiers  ?  " 

"No,  your  majesty,  their  road  to  Berlin  was 
shorter  than  mine,  that  is  all.  As  I  could  not 
ride  across  the  French  camp,  I  had  to  take  a 
roundabout  road  by  way  of  Gumbinnen.  This 
caused  a  delay  of  four  hours." 

"  Give  me  your  dispatches,"  said  the  king. 

Major  Thile  handed  him  a  large  sealed  paper. 
The  king  extended  his  hand  to  take  it,  but  sud- 
denly withdrew  it  again  and  started  back. 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  it  does  not  behoove  a  king  to 
receive  letters  from  a  traitorous  subject — a  rebel- 
lious soldier.  Take  this  dispatch,  M.  Chancellor ; 
open  and  read  it  to  me.  Give  il  to  his  excellen- 
cy." 

Major  Thile  banded  Hardenberg  the  letter,  and, 
while  he  was  doing  so,  the  eyes  of  the  two  men 
met.  The  major's  eyes  expressed  an  anxious 
question,  those  of  Hardenberg  made  him  a  sad 
and  painful  reply,  and  both  were  unable  to  restrain 
a  sigh. 

"  Read ! "  said  the  king,  stepping  into  the  win- 
dow-niche, folding  his  hands  on  his  breast,  and 
placing  himself  so  that  the  curtains  shaded  his 
face,  and  screaned  it  from  the  two  gentlemen. 

Hardenberg  unfolded  the  paper  and  read  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  To  his  Majesty  the  King : — TAUROGGEN,  De- 
cember 30,  1812. — Placed  in  a  very  unfavorable 
position  by  setting  out  at  a  later  day  than  the 
marshal  did,  and  being  ordered  to  march  from 
Mitau  to  Tilsit,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  covering 
the  retreat  of  the  seventh  division,  I  have  been 
compelled,  on  account  of  impassable  roads,  and 
very  severe  weather,  to  conclude  with  the  Russian 
commander,  Major-General  Diebitscb,  the  enclosed 
convention,  which  I  beg  leave  to  lay  before  your 
majesty.  Firmly  convinced  that  a  continuation 


of  the  march  would  have  unavoidably  brought 
about  the  dissolution  of  the  whole  corps,  and  the 
loss  of  its  entire  artillery  and  baggage,  as  was 
the  case  of  the  retreat  of  the  grand  army,  I  be- 
lieved it  was  incumbent  upon  me,  as  your  majes- 
ty's faithful  subject,  to  regard  your  interest,  and 
no  longer  that  of  your  ally,  for  whom  our  auxil- 
iary corps  would  only  have  been  sacrificed  without 
being  able  to  afford  him  any  real  assistance  in  the 
desperate  predicament  in  which  he  was  placed. 
The  convention  imposes  no  obligations  whatever 
upon  your  majesty,  but  it  preserves  to  you  a  corps 
that  gives  value  to  the  old  alliance,  or  a  new  one, 
if  such  should  be  concluded,  and  prevents  your 
majesty  from  being  at  the  mercy  of  an  ally  at 
whose  hands  you  would  have  to  receive  as  a  gift 
the  preservation  or  restoration  of  your  states.  I 
would  willingly  lay  my  head  at  the  feet  of  your 
majesty  if  I  have  erred ;  I  would  die  with  the 
joyous  conviction  of  having  at  least  committed 
no  act  contrary  to  my  duty  as  a  faithful  subject 
and  a  true  Prussian.  Now  or  never  is  the  time 
for  your  majesty  to  extricate  yourself  from  tha 
thraldom  of  an  ally  whose  intentions  in  regard  to 
Prussia  are  veiled  in  impenetrable  darkness,  and 
justify  the  most  serious  alarm.  That  considera- 
tion has  guided  me.  God  grant  it  may  be  for  the 
salvation  of  the  country ! — YORK."  * 

A  pause  ensued.  The  king  still  stood  with 
folded  arms  in  the  window-niche,  his  face  shaded 
by  the  curtains,  and  inaccessible  to  the  anxious 
and  searching  glances  of  Hardenberg  and  the 
major. 

"  Does  your  majesty  now  command  me  to  read 
the  convention?  "  asked  the  minister. 

"No,"  said  the  king,  sternly,  "what  do  I  care 
for  a  convention  drawn  up  by  a  traitor  ?  I  would 
not  be  at  liberty  to  accept  it  even  though  it  should 
secure  me  new  provinces. — Major  Thile ! " 

"  Your  majesty  ! "  said  the  major,  advancing  a 
few  steps  with  stiff,  military  bearing. 

"  Were  you  present  at  the  negotiations  prece- 
ding this  convention  ?  Are  you  familiar  with  the 
circumstances  that  led  to  it  ? " 


*  Droysen's  "Life  of  York,"  vol.  i^  p.  498. 


THE  DEFECTION   OF    GENERAL   YORK. 


85 


"  Yes,  your  majesty ;  General  von  York  deigned 
to  repose  implicit  confidence  in  me ;  I  am  perfectly 
familiar  wjth  the  course  of  the  negotiations,  and 
was  present  when  the  convention  was  concluded. 
I  observed  t'le  inward  struggles  of  the  general ;  I 
witnessed  the  terrible  conflict  that  took  place  in 
his  breast  between  his  duty  as  a  soldier  and  his 
conscience  as  a  faithful  subject  of  your  majesty. 
As  a  soldier  he  was  conscious  of  the  crime  he  was 
ibout  to  commit  against  discipline ;  as  a  faithful 
subject,  he  felt  that  he  ought  to  commit  it  if  he 
wished  to  avoid  plunging  a  corps  of  ten  thousand 
men,  belonging  to  your  majesty  alone,  into  utter 
and  irretrievable  destruction." 

"  Did  the  negotiations  last  a  long  time  ? 
Speak  1  I  want  to  know  all ;  but,  understand 
me  well,  the  truth.  No  protestations !  Speak 
DOW  ! " 

"  Yes,  your  majesty,  the  negotiations  had  been 
going  on  for  some  time ;  in  fact,  ever  since  the 
so-called  '  grand  army '  made  its  appearance  in 
miserable,  ragged,  and  starving  squads — mere 
crowds  of  woe-begone,  famished  beggars — while 
the  splendid  and  powerful  Russian  forces  were 
constantly  approaching  closer  to  our  positions 
and  the  Prussian  frontier.  The  Russian  generals, 
Prince  Wittgenstein  and  General  Diebitsch,  were 
sending  one  messenger  after  another  to  York  and 
informing  him  of  the  dangers  of  his  position,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  Russian  troops.  They 
advised  him  therefore  to  yield,  unless  he  wished 
needlessly  to  expose  the  soldiers  of  your  majesty 
to  inevitable  destruction.  They  urged  him,  for 
the  salvation  of  Prussia,  to  grasp  the  saving  hand 
that  was  being  held  out  to  him,  and  compel  Prus- 
sia to  forsake  an  utterly  ruined  ally,  who,  in  order 
to  secure  a  brief  respite,  would  assuredly  not  hesi- 
tate to  sacrifice  for  his  own  benefit  Prussia's  last 
strength  aixl  n-sourvrs.  But  the  general  was  still 
unable  to  make  up  his  mind  to  take  a  step  which 
might  be  disavowed  by  your  majesty.  In  the 
mean  time,  how,  ,,n-  that  Memel 

had  been  taken  and  occupied  by  the  Russians, 
and  Prince  Wittp-nstein  simultaneously  sent  word 
that  he  had  placed  a  corps  of  fifty  thousand  men 
3n  the  banks  of  the  Nit-men,  and  was  readv  to 


pursue  the  French  army,  whith  would  now  seek 
safety  in  Prussia.  Prince  Wittgenstein,  therefore, 
demanded  categorically  whether  York  would  leave 
the  French  army,  or  whether  he  was  to  be  con- 
sidered a  part  of  it,  and  an  enemy  of  Russia." 

"  And  what  did  York  reply  ?  "  asked  the  king, 
ha.-'tily. 

"  Your  majesty,  he  was  silent.  Even  we,  his 
confidants,  did  not  know  what  decision  he  had 
come  to.  Suddenly  a  messenger  from  Marshal 
Macdonald,  who  had  succeeded  in  getting  into 
our  lines,  appeared  at  York's  headquarters.  He 
informed  the  general  that  the  French  troops  of 
the  marshal  were  near  Piktupo'hnen,  and  brought 
orders  that  York  should  march  to  that  place, 
where  Macdonald  would  await  him,  and  that  the 
French  and  Prussian  forces  should  then  be  united. 
Henceforth  further  hesitation  was  out  of  the 
question.  The  messengers,  both  of  the  Russian 
General  Diebitsch  and  the  French  Marshal  Mac- 
donald, were  at  his  headquarters,  and  insisted 
that  he  should  make  up  his  mind  as  to  the  course 
to  be  pursued  by  his  corps.  York  either  had  to 
set  out  at  once  and  force  a  passage  through  the 
Russian  lines,  in  order  to  join  the  French  marshal 
at  Piktupohnen,  or  to  refuse  to  obey  the  marshal's 
orders,  and,  instead  of  marching  upon  Piktupoh- 
nen, join  the  Russians,  and  proceed  to  Prussia. 
But  General  York  had  not  yet  made  up  his  mind. 
Toward  nightfall  another  messenger  from  General 
Diebitsch  arrived  at  his  headquarters.  This  mes- 
senger was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Clausewitz,  whom 
Diebitsch  had  sent  to  insist  again  on  a .  categori- 
cal reply.  York  received  him  sullenly,  and  said 
to  him  :  '  Keep  aloof  from  me.  I  do  not  wish  to 
have  any  thing  to  do  with  you.  Your  accursed 
Cossacks  have  allowed  a  messenger  from  Macdon- 
ald to  pass  through  your  lines,  and  he  has  brought 
me  orders  to  march  upon  Piktupohnen,  and  there 
join  him.  All  doubts  are  at  an  end.  Your  troops 
do  not  arrive ;  you  are  too  weak ;  I  decline  con- 
tinuing negotiations  which  would  cost  me  my 
head/  "  • 

"  Did  the  general  really  say  so  ?  "  asked  the 
king,  quickly.  "Do  you  tell  me  the  truth  ?  " 


*  York's  own  words.— Vide  Droysen,  voL  t  p.  486. 


86 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


"Yes,  your  majesty,  it  is  the  whole  truth. 
Genera]  York  said  so :  I  was  present  when  Clause- 
witz  came  to  him.  I  remained  with  Colonel  R6- 
den  in  the  room  when  Clausewitz,  at  last,  at  his 
urgent  request,  received  from  General  York  per- 
mission to  deliver  to  him  at  least  the  letters  he 
had  brought  with  him  from  Generals  d'Anvray 
and  Diebitsch.  The  general  read  them ;  he  then 
fixed  his  piercing  eyes  on  Clausewitz,  and  said : 
*  Clausewitz,  you  are  a  Prussian  !  Do  you  believe 
that  General  d'Anvray's  letter  is  sincere,  and  that 
Wittgenstein's  troops  will  be  on  the  Niemen  on 
the  31st  of  December  ?  Can  you  give  me  your 
word  of  honor  upon  it?'  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Clausewitz  gave  him  his  word  of  honor.  York 
was  silent,  and  repeatedly  paced  the  room,  ab- 
sorbed in  his  reflections ;  he  then  gave  Clause- 
witz bis  hand,  and  said  in  a  firm  voice,  and  with 
a  sublime  air,  '  You  have  me  !  Tell  General  Die- 
bitsch that  we  will  hold  an  interview  in  the  morn- 
ing at  the  mill  of  Poscherun,  and  that  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  forsake  the  French  and 
th  si?  cause.  I  will  not  go  to  Piktupohnen  ! ' 
When  he  said  so,  we  who  witnessed  that  great 
moment  were  no  longer  able  to  restrain  our  trans- 
ports. Forgetful  alike  of  etiquette  and  discipline, 
Roden,  Clausewitz,  and  myself,  rushed  up  to  the 
general  to  embrace  him,  thanking  him  with  tear- 
ful eyes,  and  telling  him  that  he  had  fulfilled  the 
most  ardent  wishes  of  the  whole  corps,  and  that 
all  Prussian  officers  would  receive  with  heart-felt 
rejoicings  the  news  that  we  were  to  be  delivered 
from  the  French  alliance.  But  York  gazed  on  us 
with  grave,  gloomy  eyes,  and  said,  with  a  faint 
smile :  '  It  is  all  very  well  for  you,  young  men, 
to  talk  in  this  way.  But  the  head  of  your  old 
commander  is  tottering  on  his  shoulders.'  *  In 
the  morning  he  summoned  all  the  officers  of  his 
corps  to  his  headquarters,  and  informed  them  in 
an  affecting  speech  of  the  decision  he  had  come 
to." 

"  What  did  he  say  ?  "  asked  the  king.  "  Can 
you  repeat  his  words  to  me  ?  " 

"  I  can,  your  majesty ;  for,  after  returning  to  my 

*  This  \vhole  scene  is  historical.— Vide  Droysen,  vol. 
1.,  p.  487. 


room,  I  wrote  down  the  speech  I  had  heard  in  mj 
memorandum-book,  and  I  believe  every  word  of 
it  was-  engraven  in  my  memory." 

"  Have  you  your  memorandum-book  here  ? 

"  I  have,  your  majesty." 

"  Read ! " 

Major  Thile  drew  his  memorandum -book  from 
his  breast-pocket,  and  read  as  follows  :  "  '  Gentle- 
men, the  French  army  has  been  annihilated  by 
Heaven's  avenging  hand  ;  the  time  has  come  for 
us  to  recover  our  independence  by  uniting  with 
the  Russian  army.  Let  those  who  share  my  sen- 
timents, and  are  ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives  for 
the  fatherland  and  for  liberty,  follow  me ;  those 
who  are  unwilling  to  do  so  may  remain  with  the 
French.  Let  the  issue  of  our  cause  be  whatever 
it  may,  I  shall  always  esteem  and  honor  even 
those  who  do  not  share  my  sentiments,  and  who 
prefer  to  remain.  If  we  succeed,  the  king  may, 
perhaps,  pardon  me  for  what  I  have  done ;  if  we 
are  unsuccessful,  then  I  must  lose  my  head.  In 
that  case,  I  pray  my  friends  to  take  care  of  my 
wife  and  children.'  Your  majesty,"  said  Major 
Thile,  closing  his  memorandum-book,  "  that  waa 
the  whole  speech." 

"  And  what  did  the  officers  reply  to  it  ?  "  asked 
the  king.  "  Mind !  the  truth !— I  want  to  know 
the  truth ! " 

"  And  I  am  courageous  enough  to  tell  you  the 
truth,  although  I  am  afraid  that  your  majesty 
will  be  displeased.  All  the  officers  received  the 
general's  speech  with  unbounded  transports  and 
with  tears  of  joy.  They  shook  hands,  they  em- 
braced, and  greeted  each  other,  as  if  they  had 
suddenly  returned  from  a  foreign  country  to  their 
beloved  fatherland ;  as  if  their  tongues  had  sud- 
denly been  loosened,  and  liberty  to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  their  country  had  been  restored  to  them. 
No  one  thought  of  remaining  with  the  French ; 
every  one  was  animated  with  enthusiasm  at  the 
thought,  that  he  should  at  length  risk  his  life  for  the 
cause  of  his  country  and  his  king ;  every  one  had 
hi  his  heart,  and  on  his  lips,  a  fervent  prayer  for 
the  new  sacred  cause  which  he  was  to  serve 
again,  and  an  imprecation  for  that  which  he  had 
been  obliged  to  serve.  When  the  general  ex- 


• 


THE   WARNING. 


87 


claimed,  in  a  ringing  voice,  *  Let  us  then,  with  the 
assistance  of  Providence,  enter  upon  and  achieve 
the  task  of  liberation,'  all  shouted  •  Amen  !  We 
will  die  rather  than  serve  the  enemy  longer!' 
Your  majesty,  I  have  now  told  you  nothing  but  the 
whole  truth.  If  the  general  deserves  punishment, 
ull  the  officers  of  his  corps  deserve  it.  He  called 
upon  us  to  part  with  him  if  we  did  not  share  his 
nmvictions.  But  none  of  us  did  so,  for  his  convic- 
tions were  ours,  and  we  are  ready  to  share  hi? 
punishment,  too,  if  your  majesty  should  punish 
York  for  what  he  did,  as  a  noble  and  devoted 
patriot !  " 

"  Your  remarks  are  impertinent,  major,"  said 
the  king,  sternly.  "I  will  not  allow  myself  to 
be  dazzled  by  your  tirides.  Go!  You  need  re- 
pose. Report  to  me  early  in  the  morning.  You 
will  then  return  with  dispatches  to  the  army. 
Good-by!" 


CHAPTER    XV. 

TIIK    WARNING. 

"WELL,  M.  Chancellor,"  said  the  king,  when 
Thile  had  left  the  room,  "  tell  me  your  opinion — 
the  best  way  by  which  we  may  counteract  this 
senseless  and  rash  stop,  and  succeed  in  preserving 
our  country  from  the  disastrous  consequences." 

"  Your  majesty,  then,  is  not  willing  to  approve 
of  the  bold  act  York  has  taken  ? "  asked  Har- 
donberg. 

"  I  hope  you  did  not  indulge  for  a  moment  in 
such  a  belief,"  exclaimed  the  king.  "  York  was 
perhaps  justified  in  preserving  his  troops  from 
I  icing  necdli-sly  sacrificed;  but  he  should  have 
bnsod  hu«  conduct  solely  on  this  idea,  and  from 
it  have  explained  his  action.  Instead  of  doing 
so,  ho  justifies  it  by  political  motives,  and  there- 
<  ompromises  and  endangers  my  own  posi- 
tion. Now,  I  am  myself  entirely  at  the  mercy  of 
France,  and  utterly  destitute  of  means  to  brave 


the  anger  of  Napoleon." 


•  The  king's  words.--Vido  Droysen,  vol.  i.,  p.  4^3. 


"  No,"  said  Hardenberg,  "  your  majesty  is  not 
entirely  at  the  mercy  of  France,  and  Napoleon'a 
anger  must  no  longer  be  allowed  to  terrify  Prus- 
sia. You  have  only  to  raise  your  voice  and  call 
out  your  faithful  subjects,  and  the  whole  nation 
will  rise  as  one  man ;  thousands  will  rally  round 
their  king,  and  you  will  enter  with  an  invincible 
army  upon  the  holy  war  of  liberation.  It  will  not 
be  with  a  visible  army  only  that  you  will  take  the 
field — an  invisible  army  will  accompany  you — the 
army  of  minds  and  hearts,  the  grand  army  whose 
chieftain  is  public  opinion,  whose  soldier  is  every 
beggar  on  the  street,  whose  cannon  is  every  word 
that  is  uttered,  every  love-greeting  arid  every 
blessing.  Ob,  your  majesty,  this  'grand  urmy' 
will  pave  the  way  for  you,  and  will  enlist  every- 
where new  recruits,  fill  your  military  chesta, 
clothe  and  feed  your  soldiers,  and,  under  your 
colors,  fight  the  enemy  whom  all  Germany — all 
Europe  hates  intensely,  and  whose  yoke  every 
one  feels  weighing  upon  his  neck.  Oh,  let  me 
assure  your  majesty  th'at  it  is  only  for  you  to  h« 
willing,  and  all  Prus?ia  will  rally  round  you  for  th« 
war  of  liberation!" 

"  But  I  must  not  be  willing,"  said  the  king ; 
"  it  is  contrary  to  my  honor  and  my  conscience. 
I  pledged  my  word  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon  ;  I 
am  his  ally;  I  am  deeply  impressed  with  the 
sanctity  of  my  existing  treaties  with  France,  and 
feel,  as  every  man  of  honor  would,  that  the  ob- 
ligation to  maintain  them  inviolate  is  only  ren- 
dered the  more  sacred  by  the  disasters  which 
have  overwhelmed  the  imperial  armies.  Besides, 
you  look  at  tilings  in  a  light  by  far  too  partial 
and  rose-colored.  Do  not  confound  your  enthu- 
siastic hopes  with  stern  reality.  The  '  grand  army 
of  public  opinion,'  to  which  you  refer,  is  an  ally 
which  cannot  be  depended  upon — it  is  fickle, 
turning  with  every  wind — it  is  an  ally  prodigal  of 
words,  but  not  of  deeds.  If  my  soldiers  were  to 
be  clothed  and  fed  by  public  opinion,  they  would 
likely  go  naked  and  die  of  hunger.  If  my  mili- 
tary chests  wait  for  public  opinion  to  fill  them, 
they  would  remain  empty.  Public  opinion,  by 
the  way,  has  always  been  on  my  side  and  against 
Napoleon ;  it  has,  for  six  years  past,  disapproved 


88 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


— uay,  indignantly  condemned  his  course  toward 
Prussia,  and  still  it  has  permitted  Napoleon  to 
halve  my  states  ;  to  take  much  more  than  he  was 
entitled  to  by  the  treaty  of  Tilsit ;  to  leave  his 
troops  in  my  states,  in  spite  of  the  express  stipu- 
lations of  the  treaties ;  to  impose  contributions 
on  Prussia  and  extort  their  payment.  Public 
opinion  deplored  it  as  a  terrible  calamity  that  I 
should  be,  as  it  were,  a  prisoner  here  in  the  cap- 
ital of  my  own  monarchy,  and  at  the  palace 
of  my  ancestors,  and  live  under  the  cannon  of 
Spandau,  a  fortress  unlawfully  occupied  by  the 
French.  Public  opinion,  I  say,  deplored  my  fate, 
but  it  did  not  come  to  my  assistance  ;  it  did  not 
preserve  me  from  the  humiliations  which,  at 
Dresden,  I  had  to  endure,  not  only  at  the  hands 
of  Napoleon,  but  of  all  the  German  princes.  Do 
not,  therefore,  allude  again  to  your  'grand  army 
of  public  opinion ;'  I  despise  it,  and  know  its 
fickle  and  faithless  character.  By  virtue  of  the 
existing  treaties,  I  made  my  troops  participate  in 
Napoleon's  campaign  against  Russia.  More  than 
one-half  of  my  soldiers  have  been  devoured  by 
wolves  on  the  fields  of  Russia ;  the  other  half  are 
now  in  open  insurrection.  And  these  are  the 
troops  with  whom  I  am  to  conquer! — conquer 
that  powerful  France  which  is  able  to  call  up 
fresh  armies  as  from  the  ground,  and  into  the 
treasury  of  which  her  unlimited  resources  are 
pouring  millions !  No,  no ;  I  will  not  plunge  into 
so  hazardous  an  enterprise.  I  will  not,  for  the 
sake  of  a  chimera,  risk  my  last  provinces,  the  in- 
heritance of  my  children ;  I  could  joyously  give 
up  my  life  in  order  to  bring  about  a  change  of 
our  present  deplorable  situation,  but  I  am  not  at 
liberty  to  endanger  my  crown — the  crown  of  my 
successor.  Prussia  must  not  be  blotted  from  the 
map  of  nations ;  she  shall  not  be  swallowed  by 
France,  and  I  am  therefore  obliged  patiently  to 
bear  the  burden  of  these  times  and  submit  to  cir- 
cumstances. Hence,  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  par- 
don General  York's  crime,  but  must  punish  him 
for  his  conduct  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of 
war.  I  must  give  satisfaction  to  the  Emperor  of 
France  for  the  unheard-of  conduct  of  my  general, 
and  he  shall  have  it !  General  von  York  shall  be 


superseded  in  his  command,  cashiered,  and  put. 
on  his  trial  before  a  military  commission.  Gen- 
eral Kleist  will  take  command  of  the  troops  in 
his  place." 

"  And  will  your  majesty  cashier  likewise  all  the 
officers  who  received  the  announcement  of  the 
bold  resolution  of  their  general  with  enthusiastic 
cheers  ?  "  asked  Hardenberg.  "  Will  your  ma- 
jesty likewise  put  on  trial  the  spirit  of  resistance 
pervading  the  whole  Prussian  corps  ?  I  beseech 
you  again,  in  the  name  of  your  army  and  your  peo- 
ple— in  the  name  of  the  magnanimous  queen 
whose  inspiring  eyes  are  gazing  upon  us  from  yon- 
der portrait — take  a  bold  and  sublime  stand !  Risk 
every  thing  in  order  to  win  every  thing !  Ap- 
prove York's  step,  place  yourself  at  the  head  of 
the  army,  call  upon  the  Prussians — the  Germans 
— to  rally  round  your  flag  !  Oh,  your  majesty,  be- 
lieve me,  Germany  is  only  waiting  for  your  war- 
cry.  Every  thing  is  prepared,  all  are  armed — all 
weapons,  all  hands  are  ready — all  eyes  are  fixed 
upon  your  majesty !  Oh,  do  not  hesitate  longer  ; 
make  our  night  end,  and  the  new  day  commence. 
Declare  war  against  France — leave  her  to  her 
destiny ! " 

The  king  walked  with  rapid  steps  and  in  vis- 
ible agitation;  and,  whenever  he  passed  the 
queen's  portrait,  he  raised  his  eyes  toward  it  with 
an  anxious  expression.  Standing  in  front  of  Har- 
denberg, and  laying  his  hand  on  his  shoulder, 
he  looked  gravely  into  his  pale,  quivering  face. 
"  Hardenberg,"  he  said  at  last,  in  an  undertone, 
"  I  cannot  allow  General  York  to  remain  unpun- 
ished ;  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  approve  his  course, 
even — well,  yes,  even  though  I  should  wish  to  do 
so.  As  commander-in-chief  of  my  army  it  is 
above  all  incumbent  on  me  to  maintain  discipline. 
York  acted  without  regard  to  his  instructions,  and 
without  having  received  any  orders  from  me  to 
enter  into  so  dangerous  a  course,  and  I  ought  not 
afterward  to  approve  what  one  of  my  generals 
has  done  in  so  reckless  and  arbitrary  a  manner. 
That  would  be  rendering  obedience  dependent  on 
the  whims  and  inclinations  of  every  officer  of  my 
army.  Unconditional  obedience,  entire  subordi- 
nation of  the  individual  will — that  is  the  bond 


THE   WARNING. 


89 


Khich  keeps  armies  together,  and  I  cannot  loosen 
it  Where  sacred  and  necessary  principles  are 
at  stake,  I  must  not  listen  to  the  voice  of  my 
heart!" 

"  But  still  you  ought  to  listen  to  the  voice  of 
prudence,  your  majesty,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg, 
emphatically.  "  Now,  prudence  renders  it  neces- 
sary for  you  to  fight  at  this  juncture  against  the 
perfidious  enemy,  who  never  fulfilled  his  treaties, 
never  kept  his  word,  and  is  even  now  plotting 
mischief." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  the  king,  has- 
tily. 

"  I  mean  that  your  majesty  is  every  day  in 
danger  of  being  arrested  at  the  slightest  symptom 
that  may  appear  suspicious  to  the  French  gentle- 
men, and  of  being  secretly  conveyed  to  France. 
I  mean  that  the  French  are  anxious  that  you 
should  give  them  such  a  pretext,  so  that  they 
might  charge  you  with  secret  machinations,  send 
you  to  France,  and  appropriate  the  whole  of  Prus- 
sia. Little  King  Jerome  is  tired  of  his  improvised 
kingdom  of  Westphalia.  He  longs  for  a  more 
exalted  throne,  the  existence  of  which  has  already 
been  consecrated  by  centuries,  and  for  a  crown 
which  need  not,  like  his  present  one,  be  specially 
created  for  him.  Napoleon  has  promised  his 
brother  the  crown  and  throne  of  Prussia  in  case 
your  majesty  should  give  him  the  slightest  ground 
for  complaint.  He  has  therefore  here  in  Berlin  a 
host  of  spies  charged  with  watching  every  word, 
movement,  and  step  of  your  majesty.  Oh,  be- 
lieve me,  you  are  at  all  hours  iu  danger  of  seizure 
and  secret  removal.  I  am  familiar  with  the  whole 
plot ;  by  means  of  bribery,  dissimulation,  and 
cunning,  I  have  wormed  myself  into  the  confi- 
dence of,  and  gained  over  to  my  side,  some  of 
these  spies.  They  have  informed  me  that  every 
day,  shortly  before  nightfall,  a  closed  carriage 
drives  up  to  the  royal  palace,  and  waits  there  all 
the  night  long  ;  that,  at  a  short  distance  from  it, 
soldiers  are  posted  in  isolated  groups  behind  the 
trees,  on  the  opera  place,  and  the  corners  of  the 
streets  intersecting  the  Linden  ;  that  the  royal 
palace  is  surrounded  constantly  by  a  number  of 
•gents  of  the  French  police,  and  that  some  of 


B^fUlS     Ul      II 


these  men  always  find  means  to  slip  into  the  pal- 
ace, where  they  conceal  themselves  in  dark  cor- 
ners and  in  the  garden,  or  the  yard,  in  order  to 
watch  every  movement  of  your  majesty.  What 
should  be  the  object  of  all  these  proceedings,  but, 
on  the  first  occasion,  at  the  slightest  symptom  of 
your  defection,  to  seize  the  sacred  person  of  you. 
majesty,  to  carry  into  effect  Jerome's  ambitious 
schemes,  and  transform  the  theatre  king  into  a 
real  king  ?  " 

Frederick  William's  face  grew  pale  and  gloomy ; 
he  compressed  his  lips  as  he  used  to  do  when 
any  thing  displeasing  was  communicated  to  him. 
"  You  have  told  me  one  of  the  absurd  stories  with 
which  nurses  try  to  frighten  their  children,"  he 
said,  harshly.  "  But  I  do  not  believe  it,  nor  shall 
I  allow  myself  to  be  frightened  and  take  impru 
dent  steps.  No  one  will  dare  attack  or  arrest 
me.  I  am  the  faithful  ally  of  France,  and  have 
proved  by  my  actions  that  I  am  animated  with 
honest  intentions  toward  her,  and  stand  sincerely 
by  the  alliance  which  I  have  pledged  my  word  to 
maintain." 

"  But  suppose  France  should  look  upon  this 
defection  of  General  York  as  brought  about  by 
the  secret  orders  of  your  majesty  ?  Suppose  Na- 
poleon, in  his  incessant  distrust,  and  Jerome,  in 
his  ardent  desire  for  the  possession  of  Prussia, 
should,  notwithstanding  all  protestations  of  your 
majesty  to  the  contrary,  believe  in  an  understand- 
ing between  York  and  his  king,  and  therein  find 
a  welcome  pretext  for  carrying  into  effect  their 
infamous  schemes,  seizing  your  majesty,  and  an- 
nihilating Prussia  ?  " 

"  I  shall  give  them  such  convincing  proofs  of 
my  sentiments  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  them 
to  believe  in  an  understanding  between  myself 
and  York,"  exclaimed  the  king.  "  Enough !  I 
adhere  to  my  resolution.  York  must  be  removed 
from  his  command,  and  General  Kleist  will  be  his 
successor.  I  shall,  besides,  address  an  autograph 
letter  to  Murat,  the  emperor's  lieutenant  at  the 
head  of  the  army,  and  express  to  him  my  pro- 
found indignation  at  what  has  occurred,  and 
inform  him  of  the  penalty  which  I  am  about  to 
inflict  on  York." 


NAPOLEON    AND  BLUCHER. 


"Very  well,"  said  Hardenberg,  sighing,  "if 
your  majesty  so  resolves,  it  must  be  done ;  but  it 
should  be  done  in  haste — this  very  hour.  Count 
St.  Marsan  is  waiting  for  me  at  his  residence,  to 
learn  from  me  the  decisions  of  your  majesty  be- 
fore sending  off  his  couriers  to  the  Emperor  Na- 
poleon. It  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  lay  before 
him  the  letter  which  your  majesty  intends  to  write 
to  the  King  of  Naples,  as  well  as  the  formal  order 
in  regard  to  the  removal  of  General  York.  You 
ought  also  at  once  to  name  the  courier  who  is  to 
convey  your  majesty's  orders  and  letters  to  the 
two  camps  in  Old  Prussia." 

"  You  are  right ;  all  this  must  be  done  imme- 
diately," said  the  king,  seizing  his  silver  bell  and 
ringing.  The  door  opened,  and  Timm  the  cham- 
berlain entered.  "  Go  to  my  aide-de-camp,  Major 
Natzmer,"  said  the  king  to  him.  "  Inform  him 
that  he  is  to  set  out  immediately  on  a  journey, 
and  should,  therefore,  quickly  prepare.  In  four 
hours  every  thing  must  be  done,  and  Major  Natz- 
mer must  then  be  in  my  anteroom.  Go  yourself 
to  him,  Timm,  and  inform  him  of  my  orders. 
This  one  courier  will  be  sufficient,"  said  the  king, 
turning  again  to  Hardenberg,  after  Timm  had  left 
the  room.  "Natzmer  will  first  repair  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  King  of  Naples,  deliver  my 
letter  to  him,  show  him  the  orders  intended  for 
Kleist  and  York,  and  then  go  to  the  Russian 
camp  in  order  to  deliver  these  orders  to  my  gen- 
erals." 

"  Will  your  majesty  not  write  also  a  letter  to 
the  Emperor  Alexander,  begging  him  to  spare 
your  troops,  whom  Wittgenstein  henceforth  will 
consider  enemies,  and  to  address  a  word  of  con- 
solation and  encouragement  to  the  emperor,  whose 
magnanimous  heart  will  bitterly  feel  this  new  dis- 
appointment ?  " 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  king,  after  a  brief  re- 
flection, "  I  will  write  such  a  letter  to  Alexander, 
and  Natzmer  shall  himself  take  it  after  previously 
geeing  Murat,  Wittgenstein,  and  York." 

An  hour  afterward  the  king  wrote  his  letters, 
and  Hardenberg  drew  up  the  decree  removing 
York  from  the  command  of  the  army.  The  chan- 
cellor of  state  then  left  the  king's  cabinet  to  re- 


pair to  the  residence  of  the  French  aubassador, 
and  inform  him  of  the  resolutions  of  his  majesty 
The  king  looked  after  him  long  and  musingly, 
and,  folding  his  hands  behind  him,  paced  his 
room.  A  profound  silence  reigned  around  him  ; 
the  storm  of  the  cold  January  night  swept  dense 
masses  of  snow  against  the  windows,  making 
them  rattle  as  if  spectral  hands  were  tapping  at 
the  panes ;  the  wax-tapers  on  the  silver  candelabra, 
standing  on  the  king's  desk,  had  burned  low,  and 
their  flickering  light  flashed  on  the  noble  portrait 
of  the  queen.  The  king  noticed  the  fitfully  illu- 
minated face  gazing  upon  him,  as  it  were,  with  a 
quick  and  repeated  greeting;  he  could  not  help 
gently  nodding,  as  if  to  return  the  salutation,  and 
then  approached  the  portrait  with  slow  steps. 

"Louisa,"  he  said,  in  a  loud,  solemn  voice, 
"  God  has  counted  your  tears,  and  taken  upon 
Himself  the  revenge  of  your  wrongs.  It  was  at 
Piktupohnen  where  you  first  met  Napoleon,  and 
where  the  overbearing  man  bowed  your  noble 
head  in  the  dust.  At  Piktupohnen  the  Queen  of 
Prussia  implored  the  emperor  of  the  French  to 
spare  her  country,  and  grant  her  lenient  terms  of 
peace.  It  was  France  now  that  was  waiting  for 
Prussia  at  the  same  place,  asking  Prussia  for  as- 
sistance, and  Prussia  refused  it.  Where  the  dis- 
graceful alliance  commenced  has  been  seen  its 
bitter  end.  God  is  just;  He  has  counted  your 
tears,  and  He  is  preparing  your  revenge.  It  be 
gan  at  Piktupohnen." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE   DIPLOMATIST 

DURING  an  hour  Chancellor  von  Hardenberg, 
in  the  cabinet  of  the  French  ambassador,  Count 
St.  Marsan,  conferred  in  an  animated  and  grave 
manner  as  to  Prussia's  new  position,  and  the 
guaranties  she  offered  to  France  for  the  sincerity 
of  her  alliance.  Count  St.  Marsan  felt  entirely 
satisfied,  after  reading  the  letter  which  King 
Frederick  William  had  written  to  the  King  of 


THE   DIPLOMATIST. 


91 


Naples,  and  the  decree  removing  York  from  his 
command.  He  cordially  shook  hands  with  the 
chancellor,  and  assured  him  that  this  disagreeable 
affair  would  not  leave  the  least  vestige  of  dis- 
trust ;  that  his  august  emperor  would  also  feel 
entirely  satisfied  of  the  sincerity  of  the  king's 
sentiments. 

"And  you  may  add  that  this  will  also  satisfy 
the  emperor  of  the  sincerity  of  my  sentiments 
toward  him,"  said  Hardenberg,  smiling.  "  I 
know  that  Napoleon  has  unfortunately  often  dis- 
trusted me,  and  has  believed  me  to  be  animated 
with  feelings  hostile  to  his  greatness.  Hence- 
forth, however,  his  majesty  will  have  to  admit 
that  I  am  one  of  his  most  reliable  and  faithful 
adherents.  It  was  I  who  prevailed  upon  the 
king  to  stand  by  France  so  firmly  and  constantly. 
You  are  aware  of  it,  and  I  need  not  conceal  it 
from  you,  that  King  Frederick  William  loves  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  and  would  be  happy,  if  cir- 
cumstances enabled  him,  to  renew  his  alliance 
with  his  friend  Alexander.  The  Emperor  of  Rus- 
sia has  already  stretched  out  his  hand  toward 
him,  and  is  only  waiting  for  Frederick  William  to 
grasp  it.  York's  defection  was  carefully  prepared 
on  the  part  of  Russia ;  it  was  to  be  the  impulse 
which  should  cause  the  king  to  take  Alexander's 
hand.  And  let  me  tell  you,  confidentially,  he  was 
not  only  greatly  inclined  to  do  so,  but  even  the 
enthusiasm  of  those  gentlemen  of  his  suite,  who, 
heretofore,  had  always  been  ardent  adherents  of 
the  Emperor  of  the  French,  had  cooled  down 
since  the  disasters  of  the  grand  army  in  Russia, 
and  they  believed  it  to  be  incumbent  on  them  to 
advise  the  king  to  join  Russia.  But  I — I  have 
obtained  a  victory  over  them  all,  and,  by  my  zeal 
and  eloquence,  have  succeeded  in  convincing 
Frederick  William  that  just  now  .1  firm  mainte- 
nance of  the  alliance  with  France  is  most  advan- 
tageous both  to  the  honor  and  welfare  of  Prussia. 
The  king  saw  the  force  of  my  arguments,  and  the 
consequence  was  that  he  rejected  the  proposals 
of  Russia,  and  declared  in  favor  of  a  faithful  con- 
tinuance of  the  alliance  with  France,  as  is  proved 
by  this  letter  to  Murat,  and  this  decree,  removing 
York,  which  I  have  drawn  up,  and  which  is  al- 


ready signed.  France  may  now  confidently  count 
on  Prussia,  for  you  see  we  have  passed  through 
our  ordeal,  and  have  proved  faithful." 

"  Yes,  you  have,"  exclaimed  Count  St.  Marsan, 
"and  the  reward  and  acknowledgment  due  to 
your  fidelity  will  soon  be  conferred  on  you.  The 
emperor  knows  full  well  that  the  magnanimous 
and  disinterested  character  of  your  excellency  will 
not  permit  him  to  bestow  upon  you  any  other  re- 
wards and  thanks  than  those  of  honor  and  of  the 
heart.  As  for  the  latter,  please  let  me  return  them 
to  you  now  in  the  name  of  the  emperor  and  of 
France,  and  perhaps  you  will  authorize  me  to 
inform  him  that  your  excellency  will  consider  the 
grand  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  as  a  sufficient 
acknowledgment." 

"  Great  Heaven ! "  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  with 
a  face  radiant  with  joy,  "  you  have  divined  tbe 
object  of  my  most  secret  wishes.  You  have  road 
my  mind,  and  understood  my  ambition.  There 
is  but  one  order  to  wear  which  is  a  proud 
honor,  and  this  order  has  not  as  yet  decorated 
my  breast." 

Count  St.  Marsan  bent  closer  to  the  ear  of  the 
chancellor.  "  My  noble  friend,"  be  said,  smiling, 
and  in  a  low  voice,  "  we  shall  fasten  this  order  to 
the  breast  of  the  chancellor  of  state  on  the  day 
when  we  sign  the  marriage-contract  of  the  crown 
prince  and  a  princess  of  the  house  of  Napoleon." 

"  Yes,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  "  let  it  be  so.  I 
accept  this  condition.  I  shall  not  claim,  nor 
deem  myself  worthy  of  receiving,  this  longed-for 
order  before  the  day  when  the  Prussian  crown 
prince  will  be  betrothed  to  an  imperial  princess  of 
France.  To  bring  about  thin  joyful  event  will 
henceforth  be  for  me  an  affair  of  the  heart,  and, 
moreover,  to  such  an  extent  that,  if  this  honor 
should  previously  be  offered  me,  I  would  refuse  it, 
because  I  first  wish  to  deserve  it." 

"And  does  your  excellency  believe  that  you 
will  have  to  wait  long  ?  "  asked  Count  St.  Marsan. 
"  Do  you  believe  that  the  day  when  the  betrothal 
will  take  place  is  yet  remote  ?  " 

"  I  hope  not.  The  crown  prince  will  be  con" 
firmed  next  month,  and  after  his  confirmation  it 
will  be  time  to  speak  of  his  marriage.  I  am 


92 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER, 


satisfied  that  all  will  turn  out  well,  and  conforma- 
bly to  our  wishes,  provided — " 

"  Well  ?  "  asked  St.  Marsan,  when  Hardenberg 
suddenly  paused.  "Pray,  your  excellency,  con- 
fide in  me,  and  tell  me  the  whole  truth.  You  may 
rest  assured  of  my  most  heart-felt  gratitude,  my 
entire  discretion,  and  the  most  unreserved  con- 
fidence on  my  part.  I  beseech  you,  therefore,  to 
speak  out." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Hardenberg,  in  a  low  voice, 
and  with  an  air  of  entire  sincerity,  "  I  was  going 
to  say  that  every  thing  would  turn  out  conforma- 
bly to  3rour  wishes,  provided  the  king  do  not  listen 
to  the  incessant  secret  entreaties  and  insinuations 
of  Russia,  and  the  new  Russian  party  at  our 
court.  So  long  as  /  remain  here,  1  am  afraid  of 
nothing  ;  but  if  those  gentlemen  should  succeed  in 
persuading  the  king  to  leave  Berlin,  and  repair  to 
a  city  where  he  would  be  closer  to  Russia,  then  I 
would  really  be  afraid." 

"And  your  excellency  believes  that  the  king 
might  entertain  such  an  intention  ?  "  asked  Count 
St.  Marsan,  in  breathless  suspense. 

Hardenberg  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  I  do 
not  want  to  believe  it,"  he  said,  "  but  I  am  almost 
afraid  of  it.  However,  both  you  and  I  will  be 
vigilant.  But  listen,  your  excellency,  the  clock  is 
striking  two  !  Two  o'clock  in  the  morning !  Both 
of  us  have  yet  to  send  off  couriers,  and  then  we 
may  well  be  allowed  to  seek  an  hour's  sleep  for 
our  exhausted  bodies.  Good-night,  then,  my  dear 
count  and  ally  ! — good-night !  I  hasten  to  the 
king  to  tell  him  that  France  will  be  content  with 
the  satisfaction  which  we  offer  her,  and  thereby 
I  shall  procure  him  a  quiet  and  peaceful  slumber 
for  the  present  night." 

"  Ah,  you  are  in  truth  a  magician,  your  excel- 
lency !  "  said  St.  Marsan,  gayly,  "  for  you  under- 
stand both  how  to  take  away  and  give  sleep.  So 
long  as  I  am  near  you,  I  forget  all  weariness  ;  and 
after  you  have  left  me  I  shall,  thanks  to  your 
words  and  promises,  be  able  to  sleep  more  quietly 
than  I  have  done  for  a  long  time.  You  have 
quieted  my  soul,  and  my  body  therefore  will  also 
find  rest.  Bid  me  good-night  again,  for  when  you 
Bay  so  1  will  be  sure  to  hare  it." 


"  Good-night,  then,  my  dear  count,"  said  Har- 
denberg, shaking  hands  with  his  friend,  and  with- 
drawing, with  a  smile,  from  the  room. 

This  affectionate  smile  was  still  playing  round 
the  lips  of  the  chancellor  when  he  entered  his 
carriage.  But  no  sooner  had  its  door  closed  and 
the  carriage  was  moving,  than  an  expression  of 
gloomy  hatred  overspread  his  features.  "  I  hope 
I  have  quite  succeeded  in  misleading  St.  Marsan 
and  arousing  his  suspicions  in  regard  to  the 
king,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  As  the  king  refuses 
to  listen  to  my  warnings  and  supplications,  and 
does  not  believe  it  to  be  possible  that  France 
should  dare  seize  him,  it  is  time  to  give  him 
some  irrefutable  proofs.  Perhaps  he  may  then 
make  up  his  mind  to  leave  Berlin.  I  may 
sign  this  longed-for  betrothal  at  some  other  place, 
too,  and  then  fasten  on  my  breast  the  order  for 
which  I  am  longing.  In  truth,"  he  added,  laugh- 
ing, "  it  is  no  fault  of  mine  that  dear  Count  St. 
Marsan  interprets  my  desire  in  the  way  he  does.  I 
did  not  name  to  him  the  order  I  wish  to  wear.  It 
is  no  fault  of  mine  that  he  imagines  I  wish  for 
the  grand  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  To  be 
sure,  I  wish  to  obtain  an  order  of  honor,  but  one 
of  a  German  patriot,  and  that  I  can  only  obtain 
from  the  gratitude  of  my  countrymen  and  im- 
partial history." 

The  carriage  stopped  in  front  of  the  royal 
palace,  and  Hardenberg  hastened  to  the  king. 
Silence  reigned  in  the  anteroom;  a  few  sleepy 
footmen  were  sitting  on  the  cane  chairs  beside  the 
door,  and  scarcely  took  notice  of  the  arrival  of 
the  chancellor,  who  passed  them  with  soft,  hurried 
steps,  and  entered  the  small  reception-room. 
Here,  too,  all  was  still,  and  the  two  candles  on  the 
table,  which  had  burned  low,  shed  but  a  dim 
light  in  the  room.  The  chancellor  noticed  two 
figures  sitting  on  both  sides  of  the  door  leading 
into  the  adjoining  room,  and  slowly  swinging 
to  and  fro,  like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock.  He 
softly  approached  the  two  sleepers.  "Ah,"  he 
whispered,  with  a  smile,  "  there  sleeps  Timm,  the 
chamberlain,  who  is  to  announce  my  arrival  to  the 
king;  and  here  sleeps  Major  Natzmer,  to  whom  I 
j  want  to  say  a  word  before  he  sets  cut."  He  laid 


THE   DIPLOMATIST. 


nia  hand  gently  on  the  major's  shoulder.  Xutz- 
raer  jumped  up  at  once  and  drew  himself  up  in  a 
stiff,  military  attitude.  "You  are  verj  prudent 
in  nodding  a  little  now,"  said  Hardeabeig,  kindly 
giving  him  his  hand, "  for  I  am  afraid  you  will  not 
find  much  time  for  it  during  the  remainder  of  the 
ni^ht.  You  are  ready  to  set  out  immediately, 
are  you  not  ?  " 

"  I  am,  your  excellency." 

"And  your  dispatches,  I  believe,  are  ready, 
too. — My  dear  Tirana,"  he  then  said  to  the  cham- 
berlain, "  pray  announce  my  arrival  to  his  ma- 
jesty." 

"  I  believe  it  is  unnecessary,"  said  Timm,  with 
the  familiarity  of  a  favorite  servant.  "  His  ma- 
jesty is  waiting  for  your  excellency." 

"You  had  better  announce  my  arrival,"  said 
Hardenberg,  smiling,  "for  it  might  be  possible 
that  I  surprise  the  king  in  the  same  manner  as  I 
did  these  two  gentlemen  here,  und  that  would  be 
disagreeable." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Timm,  hastily  approach- 
ing the  door.  "  I  will  immediately  announce 
your  excellency." 

No  sooner  had  he  left  the  room,  than  the  chan- 
cellor laid  Ins  band  on  the  major's  arm,  and  bent 
over  him.  "  My  friend,"  he  said,  in  a  low,  hur- 
ried voice,  u  I  know  you  share  my  views." 

"  Your  excellency  knows  that  I  adore  you  as 
the  statesman  who  holds  the  future  happiness  of 
Prussia  in  his  hands,  and  that  I  abhor  the  French, 
who  have  brought  Prussia  to  the  brink  of  ruin." 

"Will  you  do  something  to  bring  her  back 
from  this  brink  ?  " 

"Yes,  your  excellency,  though  it  cost  my 
life." 

I"  That  would  be  a  high  price.  Xo ;  we  stand 
in  need  of  your  life  and  your  arm,  for  Prussia 
will  soon  need  all  her  soldier-.  What  I  ask  of 
you  is  not  near  so  valuable.  Listen  to  me.  The 
king  sends  you  as  a  courier  to  Old  Prussia.  Re- 
pair, in  the  first  place,  to  Murat's  headquarters, 
and  deliver  the  king's  letter  to  him.  Go  to  the 
Russian  headquarters,  and  call  upon  Prince  Witt 
gen-:U'i:i.  All  I  ask  of  you  is  to  inform  Prince 
Wittgenstein  that  you  ire  the  bearer  of  two  dis- 


patches. Tell  him  that  one  is  an  autograph  letter 
from  the  king  to  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and  the 
other  a  decree  removing  General  York  from  his 
command,  and  ordering  him  to  be  put  on  his  trial 
before  a  military  commission." 

•'  What ! "  exclaimed  Natzmer,  in  dismay. 
"  Our  noble  York  is  to  be  removed  from  his  com- 
mand ?  " 

"Yes;  the  king  has  resolved  to  remove  anc 
cashier  him,  because  he  has  gone  over  with  his 
corps  to  the  Russians." 

"York  gone  over  to  the  Russians ! "  exclaimed 
Xatzmer,  joyously.  "  And  for  this  wondrously 
bold  step  I  am  to  bring  him  a  decree  superseding 
and  cashiering  him  ?  " 

"  That  is  what  the  king  orders  you  to  do,  and, 
of  course,  you  will  have  to  obey.  But,  I  repeat 
to  you,  the  only  thing  I  ask  of  you  is  to  inform 
Prince  Wittgenstein  what  dispatches  are  in  your 
hands,  and  what  their  contents  are." 

"  But  suppose  the  king  should  not  tell  me  any . 
thing  about  them  ?  Suppose  their  contents,  there- 
fore, should  be  unknown  to  me  ?  " 

"  The  king  himself  will  communicate  the  con- 
tents to  you,  and  even  order  you  to  mention 
everywhere  on  the  road  that  you  are  the  bearer 
of  a  decree  cashiering  York,  the  criminal  general. 
It  is  of  great  importance  to  his  majesty  that  every 
one,  and,  above  all,  France,  should  learn  that  he 
is  highly  incensed  at  York's  defection,  and  that — 
Hush !  I  hear  Timm  coming !  You  will  comply 
with  my  request?" 

;<  I  shall  inform  Prince  Wittgenstein  of  the  con- 
tents of  my  dispatches." 

"In  that  case,  I  hope  York  will  be  safe! 
Hush ! " 

The  door  opened  again,  and  the  chamberlain 
entered.  "  Your  excellency  was  quite  right,"  he 
said ;  "  it  was  well  that  I  announced  your  arrival 
U\<  majesty,  like  ourselves,  had  fallen  asle«>p 
But  now  he  is  awaiting  you."  He  opened  the 
folding-doors,  and  Hardenberg  hastened  across 
the  adjoining  room  to  the  king's  cabinet,  to  torn- 
municate  to  him  the  result  of  his  interview  with 
the  French  ambassador. 

An   hour   afterward    Major   Natzmer   received 


94 


NAPOLEON    AND   BLUCHER. 


three  dispatches  at  the  hands  of  the  king.  The 
first  was  a  letter  to  Napoleon's  lieutenant  at  the 
head  of  the  French  army,  the  King  of  Naples. 
In  this  Frederick  William  informed  Murat  that 
he  was  filled  with  the  most  intense  indignation  at 
the  step  York  had  taken,  and  that  he  bad  com- 
missioned Major  Natzmer  to  deliver  a  royal  de- 
cree to  General  Kleist,  authorizing  him  to  take 
command  of  the  troops  and  arrest  General  York. 
He  declared  further  in  this  letter  that,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  he  refused  to  ratify  the  convention,  and 
that  the  Prussian  troops,  commanded  by  General 
Kleist,  should  be,  as  they  had  been  heretofore, 
subject  to  the  orders  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon, 
and  his  lieutenant,  the  King  of  Naples.*  The 
second  dispatch  was  confidential,  to  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  the  contents  of  which  the  king  had 
not  communicated  even  to  his  chancellor  of  state. 
The  third  was,  the  decree  superseding  York,  and 
ordering  Kleist  to  take  command  of  the  troops. 

"  I  think,"  said  the  king,  after  Natzmer  had 
withdrawn,  "  we  have  now  done  every  thing  to 
appease  Napoleon's  wrath,  and  avert  from  Prus- 
sia all  evil  consequences.  Are  you  not  also  of 
this  opinion,  M.  Chancellor  ?  " 

"  It  only  remains  to  send  a  special  envoy  to 
Napoleon  himself  and  assure  him  of  your  majes- 
ty's profound  indignation,"  said  Hardenberg, 
eloomily.  "  The  proud  emperor,  perhaps,  expects 
such  a  proof  of  the  fidelity  of  your  majesty." 

The  king  cast  a  quick  and  searching  glance  on 
the  gloomy  countenance  of  the  chancellor,  and 
then  gazed  for  some  time  musingly.  "You  are 
right,"  he  said,  after  a  pause ;  "  I  must  send  a 
special  envoy  to  Paris.  When  it  is  necessary  to 
appease  a  bloodthirsty  tiger,  no  means  should  be 
left  untried.  I  myself  will  write  to  Napoleon  and 
assure  him  that  I  will  faithfully  adhere  to  the  al- 
liance. Prince  Hatzfeld  will  depart  with  this  let- 
ter for  Paris  early  in  the  morning." 

"Your  majesty  will  then  have  done  every 
thing  to  satisfy  the  French  of  the  sincerity  of 
your  friendly  intentions  toward  them,  but  I  am 
afraid  they  do  not  care  to  be  satisfied." 

*  Droysen  I  "  Life  of  Ycrk,"  voL  ii.,  p.  37. 


"  You  believe,  then,  seriously  that  the  French 
are  menacing  me  ?  "  asked  the  king,  with  a  con- 
temptuous smile. 

"  I  am  convinced  of  it,  your  majesty." 
"  But  what  do  you  believe,  then  ?     What 
you  afraid  of  ?  " 

"  As  I  said  before,  I  am  afraid  they  will  dare 
abduct  the  sacred  person  of  your  majesty,  and  1 
beseech  you  to  be  on  your  guard ;  never  leave 
your  palace  alone  and  unarmed ;  never  go  into 
the  street  without  being  attended  by  an  armed 
escort." 

"  Ah,"  said  the  king,  with  a  sad  smile,  "  do  not 
the  French  always  see  to  it  that  I  am  attended  by 
an  escort  ?  Am  I  not  always  surrounded  by  their 
spies  and  eavesdroppers  ?  " 

"  If  your  majesty  is  aware  of  this,  why  do  you 
not  yield  to  my  entreaties?  Why  do  you  not 
leave  Berlin  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  to  go  to  Potsdam  ?  Shall  I  be  less 
watched  there  by  the  spies  ?  Shall  I  there  be  less 
a  prisoner  ?  " 

"  No,  your  majesty  ought  to  leave  Berlin  in 
order  to  deliver  yourself  at  one  blow,  and  thor- 
oughly, from  this  intolerable  espionage.  Youi 
majesty  ought  to  make  up  your  mind  to  go  to 
Breslau.  There  you  would  be  nearer  your  army ; 
there  your  faithful  subjects  and  followers  would 
rally  round  you,  and  the  Emperor  Alexander  per- 
haps would  soon  come  thither.  At  all  events, 
your  majesty  would  there  be  secure  from  the 
French  spies,  and  your  adherents  would  be  deliv- 
ered from  their  anxiety  for  the  personal  safety  of 
your  majesty." 

"  To  Breslau !  "  exclaimed  the  king,  anxiously. 
"  That  is  impossible  ! — that  would  be  pouring  oil 
into  the  fire — that  would  be  to  advance  on  the 
path  into  which  York  has  entered." 

"  It  would  be  another  step  toward  the  deliver- 
ance of  your  majesty,  the  salvation  of  the  country, 
and  the  annihilation  of  the  tyrant ! "  said  Harden- 
berg, raising  his  voice. 

The  king  made  no  reply ;  he  stepped  to  the 
window,  and,  turning  his  back  to  the  chancellor, 
looked  out  musingly  into  the  night.  Hardenberg 
looked  now  at  him,  and  then  on  the  queen's  portrait 


- 


THE   DIPLOMATIST. 


95 


(i 

. 


Suddenly  his  features  grew  milder,  and  an  inde- 
scribable, imploring  expression  was  to  be  seen  in 
his  eyes.  "  Help  me,  queen,"  he  whispered,  in  a 
fervid  tone.  "  Direct  his  heart,  guardian  angel 
of  Prussia ;  render  it  strong  and  firm,  and — " 

The  king  turned  again  :o  the  chancellor  and 
approached  him.  "  I  cannot  comply  with  your 
request,"  said  Frederick  William,  "  foi,  if  I  should 
go  to  Breslau,  it  would  be  equivalent  to  a  decla- 
ration of  war,  and  we  are,  unfortunately,  not  in  a 
position  to  justify  that.  I  must  not  rashly  plunge 
myself  and  my  country  into  a  danger  which  proba- 
bly would  bring  about  our  utter  ruin.  But  I  pledge 
you  my  word  that,  if  your  apprehensions  should 
really  be  verified — if  I  really  obtain  proofs  that 
my  person  and  liberty  are  menaced,  I  shall  then 
deem  it  incumbent  on  me  to  escape  from  this 
danger,  and  remove  the  seat  of  government  to  a 
safer  place — perhaps  Breslau." 

"  Is  your  majesty  in  earnest  ?  "  exclaimed  Har- 
denberg,  joyously.  "You  really  intend,  after 
having  satisfied  yourself  that  dangers  are  threat- 
ening }ou  here,  to  leave  Berlin  and  place  yourself 
beyor.d  the  reach  of  the  French  ?  " 

"  I  pledge  you  my  word  of  honor  that  such  is 
my  intention,"  said  the  king,  solemnly.  "  And 
now,  enough !  I  believe  both  of  us  need  a  few 
hours'  rest.  In  the  course  of  the  forenoon  I  will 
write  the  letter  which  Prince  Hatzfeld  is  to  take 
to  Paris.  Good-night,  M.  Chancellor  ! " 

"Drive  me  home  as  fast  as  your  horses  can 
shouted  Hardenberg  to  his  coachman,  on 
entering  his  carriage. 

"We  shall  be  there  in  five  minutes,"  mut- 
tered the  coachman,  whipping  his  horses  into  a 
gallop. 

Precisely  five  minutes  afterward  the  carriage 
stopped  in  front  of  the  chancellor's  residence,  and 
a  well-dressed  young  man,  hastily  pushing  aside 
the  footman,  opened  the  coach  door. 

"Ah,  is  it  you,  my  dear  Richard?"  said  Har- 
i.  "  Why  have  you  not  \\t 
gone  to  bed  ?  " 

"  Because  I  could  not  sleep  while  your  excel- 
lency had  not  returned,"  said  the  young  man, 
assisting  the  minister  in  alighting.  "  It  is  nearly 


four  o'clock ;    the    whole    house    was  '  greatly 
alarmed." 

"  Well,  and  what  were  you  afraid  of,  you  dear 
fools  ? "  asked  Hardenberg,  smilingly,  while  as 
cending  the  staircase. 

"  That  your  enemies  had  found  means  to  kid- 
nap you,  and  that  the  French  had  resorted  to 
such  an  outrage  to  get  rid  of  their  most  danger- 
ous and  powerful  adversary." 

"Ah,  you  big  children!"  exclaimed  Harden- 
berg, laughing.  "  How  could  you  give  way  to 
such  senseless  apprehensions  while  I  was  supping 
in  a  friendly  way  at  the  house  of  the  French 
marshal  ? '' 

'•  Just  for  that  reason,  your  excellency,"  said 
Richard,  smiling.  "  We  may  know  well  how  to 
get  into  a  mouse-trap,  but  we  do  not  know  how 
to  get  out  again.  A  panic  prevailed  among  your 
servants,  and  the  footmen  had  already  made  up 
their  minds  to  arm  themselves,  go  to  the  house 
of  Marshal  Augereau,  and  forcibly  deliver  your 
excellency." 

"  I  was  lucky,  therefore,  in  escaping  from  such 
ridicule,"  said  Hardenberg,  gravely.  "A  min 
ister  who  is  taken  home  by  his  servants  vi  et  ar- 
m/5,  because  he  takes  the  liberty  not  to  return 
at  an  early  hour — what  a  splendid  farce  that 
would  be  !  Pray  be  kind  enough  to  tell  my  ser- 
vants that  their  anxiety  was  very  foolish.  The 
greatest  cordiality  prevails  between  myself  and 
the  French  gentlemen,  and  never  before  has  there 
been  such  a  friendly  understanding  between 
France  and  Prussia.  My  servants  should  always 
remember  that,  and  commit  no  follies. " 

He  intentionally  said  this  in  so  loud  a  tone  that 
the  two  footmen  who  preceded  him  with  lights, 
as  well  as  the  two  servants  who  followed,  bean* 
and  understood  ever-  word  he  uttered.  Harden- 
berg knew,  therefore,  that  all  his  servants,  fifteen 
minutes  afterward,  would  be  informed  of  the  new 
entente  cordiale  between  Prussia  and  France  ;  that 
all  Berlin  would  be  aware  of  it  on  the  following 
day,  and  that  lie  would  thus  have  attained  his 
object. 

"  Your  excellency  will  not  yet  retire  ?  "  asked 
Richard,  when  the  minister,  instead  of  going  down 


96 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


the  corridor  to  his  bedroom,  now  halted  at  the 
door  of  his  cabinet. 

"No,  M.  Private  Secretary,"  said  Hardenberg, 
smiling.  "  As  you  are  still  awake,  and  appar- 
ently not  sleepy,  let  us  hold  a  little  business  con- 
ference. Come ! " 

No  sooner  had  the  servants  put  the  lights  on 
the  table  and  left  the  room,  than  the  face  of  the 
chancellor  suddenly  assumed  a  grave  air.  Order- 
ing, with  an  imperious  wave  of  his  hand,  his  pri- 
vate secretary  to  be  silent,  he  hastened  to  his 
desk  and  quickly  wrote  a  few  lines.  "  Richard," 
he  said,  casting  the  pen  aside,  and  turning  his 
head  toward  the  young  man,  who  witnessed  his 
mysterious  proceedings  in  great  surprise,  "  Rich- 
ard, come  here ! " 

The  young  man  hastened  to  him,  and  when 
Hardenberg  gave  him  his  hand,  with  a  kind  smile, 
Richard  stooped  down  and  pressed  a  tender  kiss 
on  it. 

"  Ah,  lips  as  glowing  as  yours  are,  should  kiss 
only  beautiful  girls,"  said  Hardenberg,  smiling. 

"  But  these  lips  like  better  to  kiss  the  hand  of 
my  benefactor,  my  protector,"  exclaimed  tlie 
young  man,  "  the  kind  hand  of  the  man  who  ex- 
tricated me  from  poverty,  distress,  and  despair ; 
who  caused  me  to  be  fed,  educated,  and  instruct- 
ed ;  and  who  (until  I  myself,  by  his  liberal  kind- 
ness, was  enabled  to  discharge  this  sacred  duty) 
secured  to  my  poor  sick  mother  an  existence  free 
from  cares." 

"  Do  not  allude  to  these  trifles,"  paid  Harden- 
burg,  carelessly.  "Tell  me,  rather,  do  you  re- 
gard me  with  respect  and  love  ?  " 

" Indescribably,  your  excellency;  with  the  ten- 
derness of  a  son,  with  the  devotedness  and  fidel- 
ity of  an  old  servant." 

"  Will  you  give  me  a  proof  of  it  ?  " 

"  I  will,  your  excellency,  and  should  you  de- 
mand my  heart's  blood,  I  would  willingly  spill  it 
for  you !  " 

"  Listen  to  me,  then  !  In  five  minutes  you  must 
be  on  horseback  and  ride  at  a  gallop,  night  and 
day,  until  you  reach  the  Russian  camp." 

"In  three  days,"  said  Richard,  gravely,  "  but 
the  journey  Avill  kill  my  horse." 


"  I  will  give  you  two  horses  for  him,  provided 
you  arrive  sooner  than  Major  Natzmer  at  the 
headquarters  of  Prince  Wittgenstein,  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Russian  troops ! " 

"  Has  Natzmer  left  Berlin  already  ?  " 

"  Yes,  about  an  hour  since,  and  you  know  that 
he  is  con?idered  the  most  dashing  and  reckless 
horseman  among  all  our  officers:.  He  has,  more- 
over, another  advantage.  He  will  ride  through 
the  French  camp,  and  will  thence  go  to  the  Rus- 
sian army,  which  is  in  the  rear  of  it ;  but  you 
must  ride  around  the  French  camp,  and  go  by 
way  of  Gumbinnen,  unnoticed  by  the  French,  to 
the  Russian  headquarters.  But  the  main  point 
is,  that  you  arrive  there  sooner  than  Major  Natz- 
mer." 

"  I  will  arrive  there  sooner.  Your  excellency 
knows  that  I  have  often  been  in  Konigsberg  and 
its  surroundings  ;  I  know  all  the  by-ways  and 
short  cuts,  and  am,  moreover,  a  good  horseman." 

"  I  know  all  that.  I  presume,  therefore,  that  you 
will  be  with  Wittgenstein  before  Natzmer  reaches 
him.  But  you  will  tell  no  one  that  it  is  I  who 
sent  you.  It  is  your  task  to  find  means  to  speak 
to  him  alone.  But  wait — I  will  give  you  your 
credentials.  Take  this  ring.  General  Wittgen- 
stein knows  it ;  he  has  often  seen  it  on  my  fin- 
ger, and  he  is  familiar  with  my  coat-of-arms. 
Send  him  this  ring  by  his  aide-de-camp,  and  he 
will  admit  you." 

"  He  will  admit  me,  should  I  have  to  shoot 
down  the  sentinels." 

"  As  soon  as  you  are  face  to  face  with  the  gen- 
eral, deliver  to  him  this  little  note,  which  I  have 
penned.  Read  it,  and  then  I  will  direct  and 
seal  it."  He  handed  the  paper  to  the  young 
man.  "  Read  it  aloud,"  he  said. 

"In  one  or  two  hours  Major  Katzracr  will  ar- 
rive at  the  headquarters  of  your  excellency,  and 
beg  leave  to  pass  through  the  Russian  camp  in 
order  to  repair  to  General  York.  If  your  excel- 
lency should  grant  his  request,  and  allow  him  to 
reach  York's  headquarters,  the  hopes  of  Prussian 
patriots  would  be  annihilated  at  one  fell  swoop. 
But  if  York  remains  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  so 
enthusiasticallv  attached  to  him — if  the  whole  na- 


THE   DIPLOMATIST. 


97 


iran 


tion  and  the  whole  corps  may  from  this  fact  de- 
rive the  hope  that  York  acted  in  compliance  with 
the  secret  instructions  of  his  king,  then  we  may 
hope  for  a  speedy  change  in  our  affairs.  The 
fate  and  the  future  of  Prussia  therefore  lie  in  the 
hands  of  noble  General  Wittgenstein." 

44  Now  read  over  the  letter  twice  for  yourself," 
said  Hardenberg,  "  that  you  may  engrave  it  on 
your  memory.  For  in  case  you  should  happen 
to  lose  the  letter,  or  if  it  should  be  stolen  from 
you,  you  must  verbally  repeat  its  contents  to 
Prince  Wittgenstein." 

44 1  shall  not  lose  it,  and  no  one  can  steal  it 
from  me,  for  I  shall  carry  it  in  my  heart.  I  have 
nothing  further  to  do  than  to  deliver  this  letter  to 
him?" 

14  You  have  to  say  yet  to  the  general  a  few 
words  which  I  dare  not  intrust  to  paper,  but  only 
to  your  memory.  You  will  say  to  him:  'Every 
thing  is  ready,  and  the  period  of  procrastination 
and  hesitation  is  drawing  to  a  close.  In  a  few 
days  the  king  will  leave  Berb'n,  where  he  was  in 
danger  of  being  arrested  by  the  French,  and  re- 
pair to  Breslau.  At  Breslau  he  will  issue  a  mani- 
festo to  his  people  and  call  them  to  arms.'  Hush, 
young  man,  hush  !  no  joyous  exclamations,  no 
transports  !  You  must  eet  out !  It  is  high  time ! 
Beware  of  the  bullets  of  the  French,  and  the 
vish  hands  of  the  Russians !  You  must  reach 

ittgenstein  sooner  than  Natzmer  does  ;  do  not 
forget  that ! " 

44 1  shall  not     Farewell,  your  excellency  ! " 

44  Farewell,  my  young  friend.  For  a  week  at 
least,  then,  I  shall  not  see  your  dear  face  greeting 
me  every  morning  in  my  cabinet.  You  must  in- 
demnify me  for  it." 

44  In  what  way,  your  excellency  ?  " 

4'  You  must  embrace  me,  my  young  friend," 
exclaimed  H:ir.lenberg,  stretching  out  his  arms 
toward  the  young  man. 

44 Oh,  how  kind,  how  generous  you  are!"  ex- 
claimed Richard,  encircling  the  minister  with  his 
arms,  and  then  reverentially  kissing  his  shoulder? 
and  his  ha:. 

"  Now,  your  excellency,"  he  said,  rising  quick- 
ly, "now  I  am  ready  to  brave  all  dangers.  Fure- 
7 


well ! "  He  waved  his  hand  again  to  the  minister, 
and  left  the  room. 

44  He  will  outstrip  Natzmer,"  said  Hardenberg, 
gazing  after  him  ;  4'  it  is  an  arrow  of  love  which  I 
have  discharged,  and  it  will  not  miss  its  aim. 
And  now  let  us  see  how  it  is  about  the  other 
arrow  of  love,  which  mes  chers  amis  mes  ennemu 
would  like  to  discharge  at  me!"  He  rang  the 
bell.  Conrad,  his  faithful  old  footman,  entered 
the  room. 

"Has  there  no  note  come  for  me?"  asked 
Hardenberg. 

"  Yes,  there  has,  your  excellency,"  said  Con- 
rad, in  a  low  and  anxious  tone.  "  Two  letters, 
your  excellency." 

44  Give  them  to  me." 

Conrad  cast  a  searching  glance  over  the  room  • 
he  then  drew  two  tiny,  neatly-folded  letters  from 
his  bosom  and  handed  them  to  the  minister. 
44 She  herself  was  here,"  he  whispered,  "and 
seemed  very  sad  when  I  told  her  his  excellency 
was  not  at  home,  and  at  first  she  refused  to  be- 
lieve what  I  said.  Only  when  I  swore  to  her 
it  was  true,  she  gave  me  the  first  note.  She 
returned  afterward  and  brought  the  second  let- 
ter." 

44  But  why  do  you  tell  me  all  this  in  so  mys- 
terious and  timid  a  manner  ?  Are  you  afraid  lest 
some  one  has  concealed  himself,  and  plays  the 
eavesdropper  ?  " 

"Not  that  exactly,  your  excellency,"  whis- 
pered Conrad ;  "  but — the  walls  might  have 
ears!"  He  pointed  furtively  at  the  ceiling  of 
the  room. 

"Ah,  we  are  here  under  my  wife's  bedroom," 
said  Hardenberg,  laughing.  "  You  are  afraid  lest 
she  should  be  awake,  and  overhear  our  words 
through  the  floor  of  her  room." 

44  Madame  von  Hardenberg  sees,  hears,  and  di- 
vines every  thing,"  *ud  Conrad,  with  an  air  of 
dismay. 

44  It  is  true,"  muttered  Hardenberg  to  himself. 
44  her  jealousy  izive-  her  a  thousand  eyes,  and  the 
events  of  her  own  life  have  familiarized  her  with 
all  sorts  of  cabals  and  intrigues.  In  this  way 
she  succeeded  hi  becoming  my  wife  and  in  bea*- 


98 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


ing  my  name  before  the  world.  But,  no  matter ! 
I  am  not  afraid  of  her  Argus  eyes,  nor  shall  she 
prevent  me  from  pursuing  my  own  path,  and 
adorning  my  dreary  private  life  with  a  flower  or 
two  of  pleasure." 

"I  believe  and  fear,  your  excellency,"  whis- 
pered Conrad,  "Madame  von  Hardenberg  has 
found  out  that  the  young  lady  was  here,  and  that 
I  received  these  letters  from  her." 

"  What  makes  you  believe  so  ?  " 

"  Madame  von  Hardenberg  sent  for  me  at 
eleven  o'clock  to-night,  and  asked  me  when  your 
excellency  would  return,  and  whither  you  had 
gone.  When  I  told  her  I  could  not  inform  her,  be- 
cause I  did  not  know,  she  was  pleased  to  box  my 
ears  aud  threaten  that  she  would  before  long  turn 
me  out  of  the  house." 

"  These  are,  indeed,  very  valid  reasons  for  your 
suppositions,"  said  Hardenberg,  smiling.  "But 
do  not  be  alarmed.  I  know  how  to  protect  you 
from  being  turned  out,  and  as  to  having  your 
ears  boxed,  it  is  no  insult,  by  the  soft  little  hands 
of  a  lady.  Any  other  news  ?  " 

"  Yes,  your  excellency,  the  physician  of  the  young 
lady  was  here  at  a  late  hour  in  the  evening,  in 
order  to  tell  me  that  she  had  again  fallen  asleep, 
and,  before  doing  so,  bad  announced  she  would 
be  clairvoyant  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning." 

"At  eight  o'clock!"  exclaimed  Hardenberg. 
"  Do  you  hear,  Conrad  ? — I  must  be  there  at  eight 
o'clock.  That  is  to  say,  you  must  awaken  me  at 
seven  o'clock." 

"But,  your  excellency,  you  will  then  have 
slept  scarcely  two  hours,"  said.  Conrad,  sadly. 

"  My  old  friend,"  said  Hardenberg,  "  shall  we 
not  have  time  enough  for  sleeping  in  our  graves  ? 
Let  us  be  awake  here  on  earth  as  long  as  possi- 
ble. You  will  awaken  me  at  seven  o'clock.  And 
now,  come  and  assist  me  in  retiring." 

Fifteen  minutes  afterward  Hardenberg  was  in 
bed.  A  neat  little  table,  with  a  night-lamp  burn- 
ing on  a  golden  plate,  was  standing  at  his  bed- 
side. Before  falling  asleep,  the  chancellor  read 
the  two  notes  which  Conrad  had  delivered  to  him. 
"  Protestations  of  love ! "  he  whispered,  smiling 
and  folding  them  up.  "  Protestations  of  love — 


that  is  to  say,  falsehoods.  But  I  must  confess 
that  this  arrow,  which  mes  chers  amis  mes  ennemi* 
have  discharged  at  me,  is  at  least  very  finely 
feathered  and  very  attractive.  At  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  then !  Well,  I  shall  see  whether 
I  do  not  succeed  in  playing  my  hostile  friends  a 
little  trick,  and  in  returning  the  arrow  to  their 
own  breast." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE      CLAIRVOYANTS. 

FOR  some  time  past  the  inhabitants  of  Berlin 
had  paid  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  doings 
of  Doctor  Binder,  and  told  each  other  wonderful 
stories  of  the  new  medical  system  of  this  strange 
physician.  He  treated  his  patients  in  an  entirely 
novel  way,  and  performed  his  cures  in  a  manner 
bordering  strongly  on  the  romantic  and  miracu- 
lous. He  neither  felt  the  pulse  of  his  sick  friends, 
nor  did  he  examine  their  tongue;  he  only  gazed 
on  them  for  a  minute  with  his  sombre,  flaming 
eyes,  and  the  patients  then  felt  as  if  fascinated  by 
them.  Their  pain  ceased,  their  blood  burned  less 
ardently,  and  an  indescribable  feeling  pervaded 
their  body  for  a  moment.  When  the  doctor  per- 
ceived  this,  he  would  raise  both  his  hands,  and 
with  the  palms  softly  and  repeatedly  stroke  his 
subject's  face.  Then  the  sufferer's  cheeks  colored ; 
a  wondrous,  long-forgotten  smile  played  round 
the  lips  which,  for  many  months,  had  opened  only 
to  utter  prayers,  or  sighs  and  complaints ;  the 
dimmed  eyes  began  to  brighten,  and  fixed  them- 
selves with  a  radiant  expression  on  the  face  of 
the  doctor,  whose  steadfast,  piercing  glancea 
seemed  to  penetrate  the  sick  one's  countenance, 
and  reach  down  into  his  soul,  in  order  to  divine, 
in  its  innermost  recesses,  his  most  secret  feelings 
and  thoughts.  By  and  by  a  sweet  peace  per- 
vaded the  soul  of  the  patient;  his  aching  limbs 
relaxed ;  he  folded  his  hands,  which  had  hitherto 
moved  convulsively  and  restively  on  the  counter- 
pane ;  the  eyes,  which  had  steadfastly  rested  on 


THE   CLAIRVOYANTE. 


99 


: 


The 

I 


the  face  of  the  wonderful  physician,  closed  grad- 
ually, and  soon  bis  long  and  regular  breathings 
indicated  that  he  had  at  length  found  the  slum- 
ber which,  during  his  sickness,  he  had  so  long 
sought  and  yearned  for. 

It  is  true,  the  patient  awoke  after  a  time,  and  his 
sufferings  returned  ;  the  end  of  his  slumber  was 
often  accompanied  by  painful  convulsions,  an  in- 
describable feeling  of  depression,  and  the  most 
profound  sadness,  but  Dr.  Binder  was  present ;  his 
eyes  exorcised  the  patient's  pain,  his  hands  quieted 
the  quivering  limbs,  and  chased  away  the  tears, 
and  the  sufferer  fell  again  into  a  sweet  and  refresh- 
ing slumber.  This  lulling  the  patient  to  sleep, 
this  fascinating  gaze,  and  laying  on  of  hands,  were 
the  only  medicines  which  the  doctor  administered, 
and  by  which  he  succeeded  in  freeing  them  from 
their  sufferings  and  diseases.  People  related  the 
most  wonderful  cures  which  he  had  performed ; 
they  spoke  of  persons  who  had  been  blind  ever 
since  their  birth,  and  whom  he  had  caused  to  see 
— of  deaf-mutes,  to  whom  he  had  given  the  power 
of  speech  and  hearing  after  a  few  days'  treat- 
ment—of lame  men,  who  suddenly,  after  being 
touched  by  the  doctor's  hands,  had  thrown  away 
their  crutches,  and  walked  freely  and  easily. 

But  the  public's  attention  was  particularly 
riveted  by  the  case  of  a  young  girl  who  had  been 
for  some  time  past  under  Dr.  Binder's  treatment. 
She  had  come  from  a  distant  city  to  seek  a  cure 
at  the  hands  of  the  famous  physician  and  pupil 

IMesmer.  A  bad  cold  had  brought  about  a 
alysis  of  all  her  limbs ;  she  was  unable  to 
move  her  hands  and  feet,  and  had  for  months 
lain  on  her  bed  as  motionless,  rigid,  and  dumb,  as 
a  marble  statue.  Her  parents  had,  in  the  anguish 
of  their  heart,  at  length  applied  to  Dr.  Binder. 
The  doctor  received  her  into  his  house.  He  pub- 

:ly  invited  all  the  physicians  of  Berlin  to  visit 
patient,   to  examine   her   condition,    and    to 

tisfy  themselves  of  the  efficacy  of  his  cure.  He 
also  requested  the  public  to  watch  the  pn 
of  it,  and  to  come  to  his  house  at  the  hours  when 
he  lulled  his  patient  to  sleep.  The  physicians 
had  disdainfully  refused  to  have  any  thing  to  do 
with  the  "  quack  doctor,"  who  pretended  to  cure 


diseases  without  medicines;  but  the  public  ap- 
peared the  more  eagerly. 

And  this  public  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  of  see- 
ing that  the  motionless  form  of  the  young  girl, 
who  at  first  had  lain  on  the  bed  as  rigid  as  stone, 
very  slowly  commenced  to  move.  It  was  seen  that, 
a  few  days  afterward,  she  raised  her  right  hand, 
and,  shortly  after,  her  right  foot ;  gradually  life 
and  motion  were  restored  to  her  limbs,  and  at 
length,  at  a  truly  solemn  hour,  the  young  girl,  at 
the  doctor's  loudly-uttered  command,  arose  from 
her  couch  and  paced  the  room  with  firm  and 
steady  steps.  It  is  true  she  uttered  a  piercing 
cry,  and  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  doctor,  her  limbs 
quivering  as  though  she  were  seized  with  convul- 
sion, but  gradually  she  grew  more  quiet ;  a  peace- 
ful expression  beamed  from  her  features,  and  she 
commenced  talking  in  a  tone  of  joyous  enthu- 
siasm. She  spoke  of  the  wonderful  world  on 
which  she  was  gazing  with  her  inward  eyes,  of 
the  visions  which  burst  on  her  soul,  and  her  lips 
whispered  strange  prophecies.  This  condition  of 
the  patient  repeatedly  occurred  every  day,  and 
with  unfailing  regularity  followed  every  "  crisis." 

The  young  woman  had  become  a  clairvoyante  ; 
and  it  was  a  truly  wonderful  fact  that  she,  who, 
according  to  the  statements  of  her  relatives,  had 
never  cared  for  politics  or  public  affairs,  and  to 
whom  it  was  entirely  indifferent  whether  Napo- 
leon or  any  other  sovereign  ruled  Germany,  sud- 
denly, in  her  clairvoyant  state,  devoted  her  whole 
attention  to  political  questions,  and  that  she  had, 
as  it  were,  become  a  prophetess  of  the  destinies 
of states. 

It  was  not  very  strange,  therefore,  that  this 
phenomenon  excited  even  the  attention  of  states- 
men, and  that  they  too  went  to  see  the  clairvoy- 
ante in  her  political  ecstasy,  and  to  put  to  her 
questions  on  public  affairs,  which  she  answered 
always  with  truly  wonderful  tact,  and  with  the 
lolound  insiirht  into  all  such  questions. 

Among  those  who  took  an  interest  in  her  was 
the  chancellor  of  state,  Minister  von  ITardenberg. 
Curiosity  had  at  first  induced  him  to  call  upon 
her ;  then  her  clever  and  piquant  remarks  struck 
him  as  something  very  strange,  and  at  last  he  be- 


100 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


came  a  regular  visitor.  Of  late,  at  his  special 
request,  the  room  of  the  patient,  during  her  crises 
and  clairvoyant  trances,  had  been  shut  against  all 
other  visitors,  and  only  the  chancellor  and  the 
physician  were  present. 

The  young  woman,  who,  during  her  trances,  reg- 
ularly announced  at  what  hour  of  the  following 
day  she  would  relapse  into  this  condition,  had 
predicted  that  she  would  awake  from  her  mag- 
netic slumber  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
would  then  be  in  a  state  of  clairvoyance.  This 
hour  had  not  yet  arrived ;  the  clock  which  stood 
in  her  room  on  the  bureau  under  the  looking- 
glass  indicated  that  about  ten  minutes  were  still 
wanting  to  the  stated  time.  A  profound  silence 
reigned  in  the  room  of  the  young  patient.  The 
physician  sat  reading  on  a  high-backed  chair  at 
her  bedside — his  book  contained  the  history  and 
revelations  of  Swedenborg,  the  great  Swedish 
ghost-seer.  From  time  to  time,  however,  he  turned 
his  large,  flashing  eyes  toward  the  young  woman, 
and  seemed  to  watch  her  slumber  with  searching 
glances. 

The  patient  was  motionless  and  rigid.  A  white, 
neat  negligee  enveloped  her  slender  figure,  which 
was  stretched  out  on  the  bed  without  being  cov- 
ered with  a  counterpane.  Her  small,  beautifully- 
shaped  hands  were  folded  on  her  breast,  her  head 
was  thrown  back  sideways,  and  rested  on  a  pil- 
low of  crimson  velvet,  which  contrasted  strangely 
with  her  pale  face,  and  black  hair,  that  overhung 
her  marble  cheeks  hi  long  tresses.  The  clock 
was  striking  eight.  The  doctor  cast  a  quick 
glance  on  the  patient,  and  then  slowly  closed  his 
book.  She  began  to  stir  and  opened  her  lips, 
from  which  issued  a  long,  painful  sigh.  At  this 
moment  there  was  heard  the  roll  of  a  carriage  on 
the  street.  The  noise  ceased,  the  carriage  seemed 
to  stop  in  front  of  the  house.  The  clairvoyante 
shuddered,  and  joy  kindled  her  countenance. 
"  He  is  coming !  he  is  coming ! "  she  said,  in  a 
deep,  melodious  voice.  "  I  see  him  ascending  the 
staircase.  He  is  pale  and  exhausted,  and  his 
eyes  are  dim,  for  he  has  slept  but  little.  Govern- 
ment affairs  have  kept  him  awake.  Oh,  now  I  am 
arell,  for  there  he  is!" 


In  fact,  the  door  softly  opened,  and  the  chan- 
cellor cautiously  entered.  By  a  quick  wave  of 
his  hand,  he  ordered  the  doctor  not  to  meet 
him,  and  then  approached  the  bed  softly  and  on 
tiptoe. 

The  young  woman  did  not  change  her  position; 
her  eyelashes  did  not  quiver,  nor  did  she  open 
her  eyes,  and  yet  she  seemed  to  see  Hardenberg, 
for  she  said  in  a  mournful  and  tremulous  voice : 
"  Well,  doctor,  was  I  not  right  ?  Just  see  how 
pale  he  looks,  and  how  the  sweet  smile  with  which 
he  formerly  used  to  come  to  us  is  to-day  very 
faintly  playing  round  his  lips  like  a  little  will-o'- 
the-wisp  !  But  I  told  you  already  he  has  slept 
only  two  hours ;  he  had  to  be  so  long  minister 
of  state  as  to  find  scarcely  two  hours'  rest  for  the 
poor,  exhausted  man." 

The  physician  cast  an  inquiring  glance  on  the 
chancellor.  Hardenberg  nodded  smilingly.  "  You 
are  right,  Frederica,"  he  said.  "  I  was  minister 
of  state  all  day  long  yesterday." 

"  No,  no,"  she  exclaimed,  "  not  all  the  day. 
At  the  commencement  of  Marshal  Augereau's  sup 
per  you  were  merry,  and  succeeded  in  forgetting 
your  onerous  business ;  and  had  not  the  secretary 
of  Count  St.  Marsan  made  his  appearance  and 
brought  the  dispatches,  you  would  have  finished 
your  pheasant's  wing  with  good  appetite  and  in 
the  best  of  spirits." 

The  minister's  face  assumed  an  air  of  astonish- 
ment,  and  almost  of  terror.  "Ah,"  he  said,  "  it 
seems  you  were  present  at  that  supper  ?  " 

"Certainly  I  was,  for  my  soul  is  accompa- 
nying you  all  the  time,  and  my  soul  is  the  eye 
of  my  body.  I  see  all  you  do,  and  know  all  your 
thoughts." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Hardenberg,  smiling,  "  telj 
me  what  you  saw  last  night.  Look  backward, 
Frederica,  and  tell  me  where  I  was,  and  what  T. 
did." 

"  Then  you  doubt  my  words  ?  "  she  asked,  re- 
proachfully. "  You  want  to  see  whether  I  am 
able  to  tell  you  the  truth?  You  know  that  it 
makes  my  eyes  ache  to  look  backward,  and  that 
my  spirit  soars  with  easier  flight  into  the  futur* 
than  the  past ! " 


TEIE   CLAIRVOYAXTE. 


103 


- 


"  Do  so  nevertheless,  Frederica,"  said  Harden- 
berg,  imperiously.  "  I  wish  you  to  do  so  !  "  He 
laid  his  hand  upon  her  arm,  and  the  contact  made 
her  start  as  an  electric  shock. 

"  I  will  obey,"  she  whispered,  in  an  humble 
tone.  "  1  see  you  sitting  at  the  table  of  Marshal 
Augereau.  You  are  in  excellent  spirits  ;  you  are 
just  telling  the  marshal  that  the  betrothed  of  the 
crown  prince  with  a  princess  of  the  house  of  Na- 
poleon will  take  place  before  long ;  Count  Nar- 
bonne  is  complaining  of  the  political  conversa- 
tions with  which  you  are  spicing  the  supper  in 
too  piquant  a  manner  ;  dispatches  arrive  and  dis- 
turb your  mirth." 

"  From  whom  do  these  dispatches  come  ? " 
asked  ITardenberg. 

"  From  Marshal  Macdonald,  who  addressed 
them  to  the  French  ambassador,  Count  St.  Mar- 
Ban." 

"  Do  you  know  their  contents  ?  " 

"  I  am  reading  them.  There  is,  in  the  first 
place,  a  letter  from  General  York—" 

"Hush!"  interrupted  Hardenburg;  "we  will 
ppeak  of  that  hereafter ;  do  not  allude  to  it  now. 
Tell  me  what  else  I  did  last  night." 

"  After  reading  the  dispatches,  you  hastened 
to  the  king  to  inform  him  of  the  dreadful  news. 
Scarcely  had  you  been  with  him  for  a  few  minutes, 
when  a  courier  from  General  York  arrived  and 
delivered  dispatches  concerning  the  same  subject 
to  which  the  others  had  referred.  After  a  pro- 
tracted interview  with  the  king,  you  went  to  the 
French  ambassador,  and  informed  him  of  the 
sentiments  and  resolutions  of  his  majesty.  The 
count  declared  himself  satisfied  with  what  you 
told  him,  and  you  then  hastened  back  to  the 
king.  You  there  met  Major  Natzmer,  whom  the 
g  intended  to  dispatch  as  a  courier  to  Murat 
General  York.  You  entered  the  king's  room 
in<l  had  another  protracted  interview  with  him. 
Thereupon  you  returned  to  your  residence." 

"  With  whom  did  I  speak  there  first  of  all  ?  " 

The  clairvoyante  was  silent  for  a  moment.  "  I 
do  not  see  it,"  she  said,  "  the  night  is  so  dark." 

"  Open  your  eyes  until  you  see !  " 

"  Ah,  I  see  now  !  "    she  exclaimed.      "  Your 


excellency  spoke  with  old  Conrad.  He  accom- 
panied you  to  your  bedroom  and  handed  you  two 
letters." 

"  She  is  right,"  muttered  the  chancellor,  loudly 
enough  to  be  heard  by  the  young  woman  and  the 
physician.  "  Yes,  she  is  right ;  it  is  all  precisely 
as  she  says."  He  then  asked  aloud :  "  Did  . 
speak  with  any  one  else  than  Conrad  ?  " 

"No,"  she  said;  "I  do  not  see  anybody  else. 
Conrad  told  you  that  I  would  open  the  eyes  of  my 
soul  and  see  at  eight  o'clock  this  morning.  You 
ordered  him  to  awaken  you  at  seven  o'clock,  and 
went  to  bed." 

"  What  did  I  do  before  falling  asleep  ?  " 

"You  read  the  two  little  notes,"  she  said,  with 
a  coy  smile. 

The  chancellor  turned  his  eyes  toward  the 
physician,  who  witnessed  this  scene  in  silent  and 
solemn  earnestness.  "Doctor  Binder,"  he  said, 
"  all  that  this  young  lady  told  me  just  now  is 
strictly  true.  All  my  doubts  are  henceforth  dis- 
pelled, and  from  this  hour  I  am  one  of  the  be- 
lievers. No ;  I  say  this  is  no  deception,  no  im- 
position ;  it  is  a  mystery  of  nature,  which  I  am 
unable  to  explain,  but  in  which  I  am  compelled 
to  believe.  It  is  given  to  this  young  lady  to  look 
with  the  eyes  of  her  soul  into  the  past,  as  well  as 
into  the  future,  and  to  perceive  and  penetrate  the 
most  secret  things.  I  believe  in  her,  and  shall 
henceforth  allow  myself  to  be  directed  and  in- 
structed by  her  revelations.  I  thank  you  for 
having  brought  this  wonderful  girl  to  my  notice, 
and  you  may  always  count  on  my  heart-felt  grati- 
tude." 

"  Belief  in  the  high  art  of  my  science  and  doc- 
trines is  the  only  gratitude  I  am  yearning  for,  and 
my  only  desire  is  not  to  be  prevented  from  heal- 
ing poor  patients  and  making  suffering  humanity 
happy  by  my  holy  science." 

"  Xo  one  shall  be  allowed  to  prevent  you  from 
doing  so  as  long  as  7am  minister,  I  pledge  you 
my  word,"  said  Hardenbcrg,  gravely.  "  Take 
heart,  therefore,  and  do  not  be  afraid.  I  am  your 
disciple,  and  at  the  same  time  your  protector. 
But  now  grant  me  a  request :  I  should  like  to  put 
to  our  charming  seer  yet  a  few  questions  in  re 


102 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


gard  to  last  night's  events.  She  shall,  in  her 
inspired  and  prophetic  prescience,  give  me  her 
advice  and  tell  me  what  course  I  must  pursue ; 
but,  in  doing  so,  I  shall  have  to  allude  to  state 
secrets,  and  to  speak  of  affairs  which  no  one  is 
allowed  to  know  but  the  king  and  his  ministers, 
and—" 

"  I  pray  your  excellency  to  permit  me  to  leave 
you  alone  with  our  young  seer,"  interrupted 
Doctor  Binder,  with  a  polite  smile.  "  I  have  to 
see  several  patients,  and  my  presence  is  required 
at  the  '  Hall  of  Crises '  below,  for  my  two  young 
assistants  are  scarcely  able  to  restrain  our  female 
patients  when  the  crisis  sets  in." 

"  Go,  then,  to  your  patients,"  said  Harden- 
berg;  "I  shall  stay  here  with  our  clairvoyante 
until  she  awakes." 

"  If  your  excellency  needs  any  thing,"  said  the 
doctor,  approaching  the  door,  "it  will  only  be 
necessary  for  you  to  ring  the  bell ;  the  nurse  is 
in  the  reception-room,  and  will  immediately  call 
my  assistants." 

He  bowed  to  Hardenberg,  bent  once  more  with 
%  searching  glance  over  the  couch  of  his  patient, 
drew  with  his  hands  a  few  circles  over  her  head, 
and  left  the  room  with  noiseless  steps.  The 
chancellor  and  the  clairvoyante  were  alone. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

AN    ADVENTURESS. 

WHEN  the  physician  left  the  room,  the  chan- 
cellor returned  to  the  bedside  of  the  young  wo- 
man; her  position  was  the  same,  and  her  eyes 
were  still  closed.  She  did  not  see,  therefore,  the 
sarcastic  smile  with  which  Hardenberg  looked 
down  upon  her,  or  the  proud,  triumphant  ex- 
pression that  was  beaming  from  his  eyes.  Hers 
wwe  closed,  and,  notwithstanding  her  clairvoy- 
mce,  she  saw  nothirg,  nor  did  Hardenberg's 
voice  betray  to  her  aught  of  the  expression  of  his 
countenance  or  the  character  of  his  thoughts. 

"  Frederica,"  he  said,  in  his  soft,  gentle  voice, 


"  speak  to  me  now,  my  soer ;  be  my  prophetess 
now,  and  let  me  see  the  future.  Tell  me  what  I 
must  do  in  order  to  reconcile  all  these  dissensions, 
and  harmonize  all  these  clashing  interests.  On 
which  side  is  justice,  prosperity,  and  peace?  " 

"  On  the  side  of  the  great  man  whose  gigantic 
strength  has  lifted  the  world  out  of  its  hinges, 
and  given  it  a  new  aspect,"  she  said,  gravely. 
"Stand  faithfully  by  the  alliance  with  France, 
unless  you  wish  the  crown  to  fall  from  the  bead 
of  your  king,  and  Prussia  to  be  divided  into  two 
provinces,  one  annexed  to  the  kingdom  of  West- 
phalia, and  the  other  to  the  duchy  of  Warsaw." 

"  But  will  France  then  still  have  power  to  do 
so  ?  "  asked  Hardenberg ;  "  is  not  France  herself 
on  the  brink  of  the  abyss  into  which  she  has 
hurled  all  states,  princes,  and  crowns  ?  " 

"  France  is  as  powerful  to-day  as  she  ever  was," 
responded  the  seer.  "  New  armies  at  the  beck  of 
Napoleon  will  spring  from  the  ground,  his  mit 
itary  chests  will  be  filled  with  new  millions,  and 
the  invincible  chieftain  will  lead  bis  legions  to 
new  victories.  Woe  then  to  Prussia  if  she  proves 
faithless — woe  to  her,  if,  in  insensate  infatuation, 
she  turns  her  back  upon  France,  and  allows  he ;•- 
self  to  listen  to  the  insinuations  and  promises  b  v 
which  Russia  is  trying  to  gain  her  over  to  her 
side  !  Russia  herself  is  weak  and  exhausted ;  she 
will  be  unable  to  afford  Prussia  any  adequate 
support.  Be  on  your  guard !  Russia  has  always 
been  a  perfidious  ally ;  she  has  always  crushed  the 
hand  of  her  allies  in  her  grasp,  while  seemingly 
giving  a  pledge  of  her  good  faith.  France  alone 
is  offering  to  Prussia  substantial  guaranties  of 
peace;  Napoleon  alone  must  remain  the  pro- 
tector of  Prussia.  Banish,  therefore,  the  insid- 
ious thoughts  that  are  troubling  your  soul ;  try 
no  longer  to  dissuade  the  king  from  adhering  to 
the  alliance  Do  not  try  to  persuade  him  to  ap- 
prove York's  defection !  He  is  a  traitor,  whose 
head  must  fall ;  for  such  is  the  decree  of  the  laws 
of  war.  To  approve  his  defection  is  to  throw 
down  the  gauntlet  to  France,  and  annihilate 
Prussia ! " 

"You  have  played  your  part  to  perfection!" 
exclaimed  Hardenberg,  laughing.  "Please  ao 


Leaping  into  the  middle  of  the  room,  as  light-footed  as  a  sylph,  and  fascinating  as  one  of  the  Graces, 

she  began  to  dance.  p.  103. 


AN    ADVENTURESS. 


103 


eept  my  sincere  congratulations,  my  dear  child ; 
the  greatest  actress  in  the  world  could  not  per- 
form her  rolf  any  better  than  you  have  done  to- 
day, and  ever  since  I  became  acquainted  with 

At  the  first  words  of  the  chancellor,  the  clair- 
voyante  gave  a  violent  start ;  a  tremor  pervaded 
her  whole  frame,  and  a  deep  blush  suffused  her 
cheeks  for  a  moment;  but  all  this  quickly  pa--ed 
away,  and  now  she  was  again  as  rigid  and  mo- 
tionless as  she  was  before. 

Hardenberg's  eyes  were  fixed  on  her.  "You 
do  not  desire  to  understand  me,  Frederica,"  he 
s=ii«l.  "Well,  then,  I  will  speak  somewhat  more 
lucidly.  Will  you  permit  me  to  ask  two  addi- 
tional questions  ?  " 

"  You  know  very  well  that  I  must  reply  when 
your  soul  commands  me  to  do  so,"  said  the  young 
woman,  in  a  perfectly  calm  voice,  "  for  your  soul 
has  power  over  mine,  and  I  must  obey  it." 

*  Well,  then — my  first  question :  did  I  really, 
night,  on  returning  to  my  residence,  speak 
with  no  one  but  old  Conrad  ?  Was  no  one  but 
he  in  my  room  until  I  went  to  bed  ?  Look  sharp, 
open  the  eyes  of  your  soul  as  wide  as  you  can, 
and  then  reply !  " 

"  I  see,"  she  said,  after  a  pause ;  "  but  I  see 
that  you  were  alone  with  Conrad,  and  with  the 
thoughts  of  a  lady  who  loves  you." 

"I  am  very  glad  that  you  tell  me  so,"  said 
Harden  berg,  calmly,  "for  I  understand  from  it 
that  my  enemies,  who  are  furnishing  you  with 
correct  reports  as  to  all  my  doings,  have  yet 
remained  ignorant  of  an  affair  in  which  I  was 
engaged  last  night.  For  thote  really  was  another 
perwon  with  me,  and  your  patrons  would  give  a 
great  deal  to  find  out  what  instructions  I  gave  to 
that  person.  Now,  ,is  to  my  second  question; 
hut  I  hope  you  hear  my  words,  ma  toule  belle,  and 
IIHVC  not  yet  pa--cd  from  an  unnatural  sleep  into 
a  natural  one ! " 

4 1  hear  you,  and  I  am  ready  to  answer  if  your 
Foul  commands  me.'' 

"Well,  the:),"  -aid  Hunlenherg,  bending  over 
her,  and  fixing  his  piercing  eyes  upon  her  coun- 
tenance. "  my  question  is  this :  How  much  do 


your  protectors  give  you  for  playing  the  part 
which  you  performed  before  me?  " 

A  pause  ensued.  Suddenly  the  clairvoyante 
opened  her  eyes,  gazing  with  an  indescribable 
expression  on  the  face  of  the  minister  still  bend- 
ing over  her. 

"  They  give  me  nothing,"  she  said,  in  a  firm, 
sonorous  voice,  "but  the  hope  of  acquiring  a 
brilliant  position  in  the  future." 

"You  confess,  then,  that  you  have  played  a 
considerable  farce?"  asked  Chancellor  von  Har- 
denberg,  smiling. 

"  I  confess  that  I  have  played  my  part  very 
badly,  and  that  your  eagle  eye  is  able  to  penetrate 
every  thing.  I  confess  that  I  adore  you  for  hav- 
ing unmasked  me,"  she  exclaimed,  quickly  en- 
circling Hardenberg's  neck  with  her  arms,  drawing 
his  head  down  to  her,  and  pressing  a  glowing 
kiss  on  his  lips.  Then,  still  keeping  her  arms 
around  his  neck,  she  raised  herself  from  the 
couch,  and  leaned  for  a  moment  against  the 
manly  form  of  the  chancellor. 

Disengaging  herself  from  him,  she  jumped  from 
the  bed  to  the  floor,  and,  spreading  out  her  arms, 
and  throwing  back  her  head,  she  exclaimed  in  u 
jubilant  voice:  "I  am  free!  I  need  no  longer 
play  my  irksome  r6le  !  Oh,  I  am  free  ! " 

Leaping  into  the  middle  of  the  room,  as  light- 
footed  as  a  sylph,  and  fascinating  as  one  of  the 
graces,  she  began  to  dance,  raising  her  feet  and 
moving  her  arms  in  a  slow,  measured  manner,  at 
the  outset ;  Hut,  turning  more  rapidly,  with  more 
passionate  movement  and  increasing  ardor,  her 
countenance  grew  more  glowing  and  animated. 
Her  large  black  eyes  flashed  fire — an  air  of  wild, 
bacchantic  ecstasy  pervaded  her  whole  appear- 
ance, her  cheeks  were  burning,  her  beautiful  red 
lips  were  half  opened,  and  revealed  her  ivory 
teeth,  and  her  uplifted  arms  (from  which  the 
wide  sleeves  of  her  negligee  had  fallen  back  to 
the  shoulders)  were  of  the  most  charming  con- 
tour. Concluding  her  dance,  she  glided  breath- 
less and  with  panting  bosom  toward  Harden- 
.  who  had  sunk  into  the  easy-chair,  and  waa 
looking  on  with  wondering  eyes.  Bursting  into 
loud,  melodious  laughter,  she  sat  ut  his  feet,  and, 


104 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


pressing  her  glowing  face  against  his  knees,  looked 
Bearchingly  and  suppliantly  into  his  eyes. 

"  You  are  angry  with  me,"  she  said  ;  u  oh,  par- 
don me,  but  I  had  first  to  give  vent  to  my  exul- 
tation. Now  I  will  be  quite  sensible." 

"  And  what  do  you  call  sensible,  then  ?  "  asked 
Hardenberg,  who,  under  the  power  of  the  woman's 
glances,  vainly  tried  to  impart  to  his  countenance 
an  air  of  gravity  and  sternness. 

"  I  call  it  sensible  to  reply  honestly  to  the  ques- 
tions your  excellency  will  put  to  me  now,"  she 
said,  in  a  caressing  tone. 

"  Well,  then,  let  us  see  whether  you  are  really 
sensible  or  not,"  said  Hardenberg.  "  In  the  first 
place,  please  rise." 

She  shook  her  head  slowly.  "No,"  she  said, 
"  I  will  remain  at  your  feet  until  you  have  beard 
my  confession  and  granted  me  absolution." 

"And  suppose  I  refuse  to  grant  you  absolu- 
tion?" 

"  Then  I  shall  die  at  your  feet ! " 

"  Ah,  it  is  not  so  easy  to  die." 

"  It  is  easy  to  die  when  one  wants  to,  and  has 
such  a  friend  as  this  is,"  she  exclaimed,  drawing 
from  her  hair  one  of  the  two  long  silver  pins  with 
which  her  heavy  black  tresses  were  partially  fas- 
tened. 

"Strange  girl!"  murmured  Hardenberg,  sur- 
prised, while  she  was  looking  up  to  him  with  ra- 
diant eyes,  and  a  smile  playing  on  her  lips. 

"  Will  you  ask  me  now  ? "  she  then  said, 
gently  and  almost  humbly.  "  I  am  lying  here 
at  your  feet  as  if  you  were  my  confessor,  and 
I  am  longing  with  trembling  impatience  for  my 
absolution." 

tl  Well,  then,  tell  me,  in  the  first  place,  who  you 
are." 

"Who  am  I?"  she  asked.  "A  cheat,  who, 
by  intrigues,  cabals,  and  cunning,  tried  to  attain 
the  object  she  yearned  for  so  intensely,  namely, 
to  lie  at  the  feet  of  a  noble  and  eminent  man,  as 
she  is  doing  now,  and  to  tell  him  that  she  loves 
him.  Who  am  I  ?  An  adventuress,  who  has 
gone  out  into  the  world  to  seek  her  fortune;  to 
play,  if  possible,  a  prominent  part;  to  acquire  a 
distinguished  name,  and  to  obtain  riches,  power, 


and  influence.  Who  am  I  ?  A  diver,  who  ha« 
plunged  with  reckless  audacity  into  the  foam- 
ing sea,  to  find  at  its  bottom  either  pearls  or  a 
grave." 

"  But,  my  child,"  said  Hardenberg,  "  do  you 
not  know  that  the  divers,  when  plunging  into 
the  sea  to  seek  pearls,  always  gird  a  safety-rope 
around  their  waist  for  the  purpose  of  being  drawn 
to  the  surface  whenever  they  are  in  danger  of 
drowning  ?  " 

"  The  man  who  loves  me  will  be  my  safety-rope 
and  draw  me  up,''  she  said,  gravely. 

Hardenberg  laughed.  "  In  truth,"  he  said,  "  I 
must  admire  your  sincerity  and  naivete.  You 
must  be  very  courageous  to  utter  such  truths 
about  yourself." 

"  Certainly,  it  would  have  been  easier  to  play 
the  virtuous,  forsaken,  and  unfortunate  girl,"  she 
said,  with  a  contemptuous  smile.  "  It  would  have 
been  less  troublesome  to  throw  myself  at  your 
feet,  bathed  in  a  flood  of  tears,  and  to  say,  *  Oh, 
have  mercy  upon  me !  Free  me  from  this  un- 
worthy r6le  which  has  been  forced  upon  me ! 
Save  me  from  the  torture  of  being  compelled  to 
dissimulate,  to  lie,  and  to  cheat.  Virtue  dwells 
in  my  heart,  innocence  and  truth  are  upon  my 
lips.  I  have  been  forced  to  play  a  part  that  dis- 
honors me.  Have  mercy  upon  me,  save  me  from 
the  snares  threatening  me  !'  "  While  saying  so, 
she  imparted  to  her  features  precisely  the  ex- 
pression that  was  adapted  to  her  words  ;  she  had 
spoken  in  a  tremulous,  suppliant  voice,  with  folded 
hands  and  tearful  eyes. 

"  Poor  child,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  surprised, 
"  you  weep,  you  are  deeply  moved  !  Ah,  now  at 
last  you  show  me  your  true  face,  now  you  cause 
me  to  see  the  poor,  innocent,  and  unfortunate 
child  that  you  really  are  ! " 

She  shook  away  her  tears  and  burst  into  laugh- 
ter. "  No,"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  have  only  proved 
to  you  that  I  would  be  able  to  play  the  virtuous 
and  innocent  girl  to  perfection,  and  that  I  might, 
perhaps,  thereby  succeed  in  touching  your  noble 
heart.  But  you  have  commanded  me  to  tell  you 
the  truth,  and  I  have  pledged  you  my  word  to  do 
so.  I  tell  you,  then,  I  am  no  persecuted,  virtuoui 


AN  ADVENTURESS 


105 


girl,  no  innocent  angel ;  I  am  a  woman,  carrying 
*  heaven  and  a  hell  in  her  bosom  ;  I  can  be  an 
an^el,  if  happiness  and  love  favor  me  ;  I  will  be  a 
demon,  if  fate  be  hostile  to  me.  Yes,"  she  ex- 
claimed, jumping  up  and  pacing  the  room  in  great 
agitation,  "  there  are  hours  and  days  when  I  my- 
self believe  that  I  am  a  demon,  an  angel  hurled 
down  from  heaven,  and  doomed  to  walk  the  earth 
on  account  of  some  crime.  There  are  hours  when 
heavenly  recollections  fill  my  imagination,  when 
an  indescribable,  blissful  yearning  is,  as  it  were, 
enveloping  me  in  a  veil — when  there  are  resound- 
ing in  my  heart  the  sweetest  and  most  enchanting 
notes  of  sacred  words  and  devout  prayers,  and 
when  it  seems  to  me  as  though  I  were  sitting  in 
the  midst  of  radiant  angels,  surrounded  by  lumi- 
nous clouds,  at  the  feet  of  God,  His  breath  upon 
my  cheek,  and  looking  down  with  compassionate, 
merciful  love  upon  the  world,  lying  at  an  unfath- 
omable distance  under  my  feet.  And  then  I  say 
to  myself:  '  You  have  reviled  and  slandered  your- 
self; you  are,  after  all,  a  good  angel;  God  is 
with  you,  and  prayer,  love,  and  innocence,  are  in 
your  heart.'  Then  it  suddenly  seems  to  me  as  if 
my  heart  were  rent,  and  I  heard  loud,  scornful 
laughter.  I  fall  from  my  heaven  ;  I  look  around 
and  behold  men,  with  their  bitter-sweet  faces, 
smiling  on,  and  lying  to,  each  other ;  I  see  all 
their  duplicity  and  their  infamy;  I  laugh  at  my 
own  transports  and  swear  never  to  be  human 
with  humanity,  but  a  demon  with  the  demons — 
to  cheat  as  they  cheat,  to  lie,  and  win  from  them 
as  much  happiness,  honor,  and  wealth,  as  I  can 
with  some  mimic  talent,  a  cool  and  sharp  mind, 
a  pretty  figure,  and  an  ugly  face." 

"Ah,  you  are  slaiuli-ring  yourself,"  exclaimed 
Uardenberg,  smiling.  "  You  have  no  ugly  face." 

She  hastened  to  the  lookin.  i  ga/ed 

on  herself  with  search!  i.  "  Yes,"  she 

said,  "I  am  really  ugly.  My  mouth  is  too  large, 
my  lips  too  full,  my  face  is  angular  and  by 
no  means  pn  _,  my  nose  is  vulgar,  my 

forehead  too  low  and  too  wide,  these  bushy  <  \e- 
brows  become  rather  a  grenadier  than  a  youug 
lady,  and  these  larg.-  black  eyes  look  like  a  cou- 
ple of  sentinels,  which,  with  sharp  glances,  have 


to  watch  the  rabble  of  nose,  mouth,  ear,  and 
cheek,  lest  one  should  try  to  escape  from  disgust 
at  the  ugliness  of  the  others.  But  I  do  not  re- 
gret my  want  of  beauty,  for  it  is  uncommon  and 
piquant,  and  I  can  imagine  that  a  gifted,  eminent 
man,  who  is  tired  of  the  pretty  faces  of  so-called 
virtuous  women,  may  feel  attracted  by  my  ugli- 
ness. Beauty  at  l?ast  always  becomes  tiresome, 
for  it  treats  you  at  once  to  all  that  it  is  and  ha?, 
but  ugliness  excites  your  curiosity  more  and  more 
from  day  to  day,  for,  at  certain  moments,  it  may 
be  transformed  into  beauty  !  " 

"  Your  own  case  shows  that,"  said  Harden- 
berg,  "  for,  although  you  call  yourself  ugly,  there 
is  a  fascinating  beauty  in  your  whole  appearance." 

She  gazed  on  him  with  a  long  and  radiant  look. 
"  You  are  a  great  man,  a  genius,  and  you  are, 
therefore,  able  to  understand  me.  I  will  tell  you 
my  history  now,  that  you  may  at  last  grant  me 
the  blessing  of  your  forgiveness." 

"  Well,  tell  me  your  history,"  exclaimed  Har- 
denberg.  "  Come,  Frederica,  sit  down  by  my 
side  here  on  the  couch  on  which  you  have  so 
often  reposed  as  a  modern  Pythia,  and  proclaimed 
to  me  the  oracles  which  your  mysterious  priest 
had  whispered  to  you.  Now  you  are  no  priestess 
uttering  equivocal  wisdom,  but  a  young  woman 
telling  the  truth,  and  making  me  listen  to  the 
revelations  of  her  heart." 

"  A  young  woman,"  she  repeated,  sighing  and 
reclining  on  the  bed  close  to  the  easy-chair  on 
which  Hardenberg  was  sitting.  "Am  I  young, 
then  ?  It  seems  to  me  sometimes  as  though  I 
wrre  old — so  old  as  no  longer  to  have  any  illu- 
sions, any  hopes  or  wishes;  as  though  I  were  the 
'  Wandering  Jew '  who  has  been  travelling  through 
the  world  so  many  centuries,  seeking  perpetually 
for  the  rest  which  he  can  nowhere  find.  But  still 
you  are  right ;  I  am  young,  for  1  am  only  twenty 
years  old." 

"And  who  are  your  parents?  Where  do  they 
live  ?  " 

"  Who  are  my  parents?  "  she  asked,  laughing. 
"  My  father  was  a  holy  man,  a  high-priest  in  the 
temple  of  Time.  It  depended  on  him  when  men 
were  to  awake  or  sleep,  eat  or  work.  It  was  his 


106 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCIIER. 


will  that  regulated  rendezvous  and  wedding?,  par- 
ties and  arrests,  and  he  had  no  other  master  than 
the  sun.  He  allowed  the  sun  alone  to  guide  him, 
and  still  he  was  no  Persian ! " 

"  But  he  was  a  watchmaker "? "  asked  Ilarden- 
berg,  smiling. 

"Yes,  he  was  a  watchmaker,  and,  thanks  to 
him,  the  whole  town  where  he  lived  knew  exactly 
what  time  it  was.  Only  my  mother  did  not  know 
it.  She  believed  herself  to  be  a  great  lady,  al- 
though she  was  only  a  poor  watchmaker's  wife, 
but  was  unable  to  efface  the  recollections  of  her 
youth.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  French  mar- 
quis, who,  after  gambling  away  his  whole  fortune 
at  the  court  of  Louis  XV.,  had  emigrated  with 
his  young  wife  and  daughter  to  Berlin,  in  order 
to  seek  another  fortune  at  the  court  of  Frederick 
the  Great.  But  Frederick  the  Great  had  already 
become  somewhat  distrustful  of  the  roving  mar- 
quises and  counts  whom  France  sent  to  Berlin. 
Marquis  de  Barbasson,  my  worthy  grandfather,  re- 
ceived, therefore,  no  office  and  no  money,  and  a 
time  of  distress  set  in,  such  as  he  would  pre- 
viously have  deemed  utterly  unlikely  to  befall  the 
descendant  of  his  ancestors.  He  left  Berlin  with 
his  family,  to  make  his  living  somewhere  else  as 
a  teacher  of  languages.  He  travelled  from  one 
place  to  another,  and  arrived  at  length  at  a  small 
town  called  New  Brandenburg.  There  he  re- 
mained, for  his  feet  were  weary,  and  his  poor  wife 
was  sick  and  tired  of  life.  Well,  Madame  la  Mar- 
quise de  Barbasson  died,  and  the  marquis  taught 
the  young  ladies  of  New  Brandenburg  how  to 
conjugate  avoir  and  etre  ;  his  daughter  assisted 
him,  and,  as  she  was  very  pretty,  she  taught  many 
a  young  man  how  to  conjugate  aimer.  But  who 
would  have  thought  of  marrying  the  daughter  of 
a  French  adventurer,  who,  it  is  true,  styled  him- 
self marquis,  but  was  as  poor  as  a  beggar !  He 
was  unable  long  to  bear  the  privations  and  hu- 
miliations of  his  life ;  he  fled  from  his  creditors, 
and  perhaps  also  from  his  remorse,  by  commit- 
ting suicide ;  and  his  daughter,  who  was  twenty 
years  of  age  at  that  time,  remained  alone,  and 
without  any  other  inheritance  than  the  debts  of 
her  father.  One  of  the  principal  creditors  of  the 


marquis  was  the  proprietor  of  the  house  in  which 
father  and  daughter  had  lived  for  three  years 
without  paying  rent,  or  refunding  the  small  sums 
he  had  lent  to  them.  This  proprietor  was  a 
young  watchmaker,  named  Hahn,  an  excellent 
young  man,  who  had  given  the  family  of  the 
French  marquis  not  only  his  money,  but  his 
heart.  He  loved  the  young  Marquise  de  Bar- 
basson, unfortunate,  or,  if  you  prefer,  fortunate 
man !  for  his  courtship  was  successful.  Now, 
after  the  death  of  the  old  marquis,  he  played 
the  part  of  an  importunate  creditor,  and  told 
her  she  had  the  alternative  of  paying  or  mar- 
rying him.  The  young  Marquise  de  Barbasson 
married  him,  and  then  paid  the  poor  watchmaker 
in  a  manner  which  was  not  very  pleasant  to  him. 
She  never  forgave  him  for  having  reduced  her  to 
the  humble  position  of  a  watchmaker's  wife,  and 
found  it  disgusting  to  be  obliged  to  call  herself 
Hahn,  after  having  so  long  borne  the  aristocratic 
name  of  Barbasson.  However  that  might  be,  she 
was  his  wife,  and  I  have  the  honor  to  represent 
in  my  humble  person  the  legitimate  daughter  of 
Hahn,  the  watchmaker,  and  the  Marquise  de  Bar- 
basson." 

"  And  I  must  confess  that  you  are  representing 
your  mother  and  your  father  in  a  highly  becom- 
ing manner,"  said  Hardenberg.  "  You  have  the 
bearing  and  the  savoir  vivre  of  a  French  marquise, 
and  from  your  oracular  sayings  I  have  seen  that 
you  are  as  familiar  with  the  time  as  a  watch- 
maker is.  But  I  can  imagine  that  the  descent  of 
your  parents  produced  many  a  discord  in  your 
life." 

"  S;»y  rather  that  my  whole  life  was  a  discord," 
she  exclaimed,  vehemently,  "  and  that  I  have  lived 
in  an  unending  conflict  between  my  head  and  my 
heart,  my  reality  and  my  imagination.  Oh,  how 
often,  when  lying  in  dreary  loneliness,  in  the 
shade  of  an  oak  on  the  shore  of  the  charming 
lake  near  the  small  town  in  which  we  lived — how 
often  did  I  utter  loud  cries  of  anguish,  and  say  to 
the  billows  that  washed  the  shore  with  a  low, 
murmuring  sound :  '  I  am  a  French  marquise , 
there  is  aristocratic  blood  in  my  veins ;  it  is  my 
vocution  to  shine  at  the  courts  of  kings,  and  to 


AN     \DVENTURESS. 


107 


•ee  counts  and  princes  at  my  feet ! '  Yet  none 
but  the  waves  of  the  lake  believed  my  words; 
men  treated  me  never  as  a  Marquise  de  Barbas- 
son,  but  only  as  little  Frederics  Halm,  daughter 
of  a  poor  watchmaker.  I  frit  this  as  a  personal 
insult,  and  at  many  a  bitter  hour  it  seemed  to 
me  as  though,  like  my  mother,  I  hated  my  poor 
father  because  he  had  robbed  us  of  our  brilliant 
name  and  our  nobility.  My  father  bore  my  whims 
patiently,  for  he  loved  me,  and  I  believe  he  loved 
nothing  on  earth  better  than  his  daughter.  He 
saw  that  I  was  pining  away  in  the  wearisome 
loneliness  of  our  dull  life  ;  he  knew  that  ambition 
was  burning  in  my  heart  like  a  torrent  of  6re,  and 
he  wept  with  me  »nd  begged  my  pardon  for  being 
a  poor  watchmaker,  and  no  nobleman.  He  did 
all  he  could  to  make  amends  for  this  wrong ;  he 
treated  me  not  as  his  daughter,  but  as  his  supe- 
rior ;  and,  although  we  were  scarcely  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances, he  surrounded  me  with  all  comforts 
becoming  an  aristocratic  young  lady.  I  had  my 
servants,  my  own  room,  a  tolerably  fashionable 
toilet,  a  piano,  a  small  library ;  and  my  father  was 
proud  of  being  able  to  have  me  instructed  by  the 
best  and  most  expensive  teachers,  and  of  hearing 
that  I  was  their  most  industrious  and  talented 
pupil.  But  what  good  did  all  this  do  me  ?  I  re- 
mained what  I  was— Frederick  Halm,  the  watch- 
maker's daughter — and  the  blood  of  the  Barbas- 
Ued  against  my  position  in  life;  and 
the  marquises  and  viscounts,  my  distinguished 
ancestors,  appeared  to  my  inward  eye,  and  seemed 
to  beckon  me  and  call  me  to  the  proud  castles 
which  had  formerly  belonged  to  our  family.  But 
how  should  I  get  thither  ? — how  escape  from  my 
email  native  town  ? — how  rid  myself  of  the  burden 
of  my  name  and  my  birth?  That  was  the  <)ii< -s- 
lion  whii-h  put  my  brain  night  and  day  on  the 
rack,  and  to  which  my  intellect  was  unable  to 
make  a  sati^'actory  ivply.  An  accident,  how- 
ever, came  to  my  assist  an 

"Ah,  in  truth,  1  to  hear  this,"  ex- 

claimed Hani  ;   I  am   listening  to  you 

in  breathle>s  suspense,  and  am  as  eager  to  learn 
the  conclusion  of  your  history  as  though  it  were 
the  denouement  of  a  drama.  An  accident,  then, 


furnished  you  with  a  rep.;,  my  beautiful  Marquise 
de  Barbasson?" 

"  Yes,  your  excellency,  and  never  shall  I  for- 
get the  day  and  the  hour.  It  was  on  a  beautiful 
•day  last  autumn.  As  I  was  in  the  habit  of  doing 
every  day,  I  had  gone  with  my  book  into  the 
forest  on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  I  lay  in  my 
favorite  place  under  a  large  oak,  in  the  dark 
foliage  of  which  the  birds  were  singing,  while  the 
waves  of  the  lake  at  my  feet  were  a  sweet  accom- 
paniment. I  was  reading  the  lately  published 
poetry  of  my  favorite  bard,  Goethe,  and  had  just 
finished  *  The  Wandering  Fool.'  This  poem  struck 
my  heart  as  lightning.  I  dropped  the  book, 
looked  up  to  the  clouds  and  shouted  to  them : 
'  What  are  you  but  wandering  fools !  Oh,  take 
me  with  you ! '  But  the  clouds  did  nob  reply  to 
me ;  they  passed  on  in  silence,  and  my  sad  eyes 
turned  to  the  lake  extended  before  me  like  a 
polished  mirror,  and  mingling  with  the  blue  mists 
of  the  horizon,  and  I  said  to  the  murmuring  waves, 
as  I  had  said  to  the  clouds :  *  Take  me  with  you, 
wandering  fools !  I  am  suffocating  in  my  cap- 
tivity! I  must  leave  this  small  town;  it  is  a 
prison — an  open  grave ! '  At  this  moment,  the 
oak  above  me  shook  its  foliage;  a  wind  drove 
the  waves  faster,  until  they  broke  on  the  shore; 
and  a  sheet  of  paper,  which  some  wanderer  might 
have  lost,  was  blown  toward  me.  I  took  it,  and 
suddenly  the  wind  was  silent  as  though  it  had 
accomplished  its  mission ;  the  oak  stirred  no 
more,  the  lake  was  tranquil,  and  even  the  clouda 
seemed  to  pause  and  look  on  while  I  unfolded 
and  read  the  paper." 

"  Oh,  I  imagine  what  it  was ! "  exclaimed  Har- 
denberg.  "A  love-letter  from  one  of  your  ad- 
mirers, who  knew  that  the  beautiful  nymph  of 
the  lake  had  selected  that  spot  for  her  sanc- 
tuary." 

"  Ah,  you  do  not  imagine  very  well,  your  ex- 
cellency. It  was  no  love-letter,  but  a  newspaper ! 
It  was  a  copy  of  your  dear,  venerable  Voxsische 
Z'itiinff.*  I  read  it  at  first  very  carelessly,  but 
suddenly  I  noticed  an  article  from  Berlin,  which 

*  The  Vossische  Zeitung,  one  of  the  oldest  Berlin  uew*> 
papers,  la  still  published. 


108 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


excited  my  liveliest  attention.  It  alluded  to  the 
strange  cures  performed  by  Doctor  Binder,  a 
magnetizer.  It  related  that  many  sufferers  came 
to  Berlin  from  distant  cities  to  be  cured  by  the 
doctor,  whose  whole  treatment  consisted  of  laying' 
his  hands  and  fixing  his  eyes  on  his  patients.  It 
dwelt  especially  upon  the  adventures  of  a  young 
woman  whose  strange  disease  had  riveted  the  at- 
tention of  all  Berlin,  and  who,  in  consequence  of 
the  doctor's  treatment,  had  become  a  clairvoyante. 
It  said  that  the  truly  wonderful  sayings  and  pre- 
dictions of  the  young  woman  were  creating  the 
greatest  sensation,  and  that  even  ministers  and 
distinguished  functionaries  were  visiting  Doctor 
Binder's  '  Hall  of  Crises,'  in  order  to  listen  and 
put  questions  to  the  clairvoyante." 

"  Ah,  that  was  little  Henrietta  Meyer,  who  died 
a  few  months  ago,"  said  Hardeuberg. 

"  Yes,  she  was  so  accommodating  as  to  die  and 
make  room  for  me,"  exclaimed  Frederica,  smiling. 
"When  I  had  read  this  article  about  her,  it 
seemed  to  me  as  though  a  veil  dropped  from  my 
eyes,  and  I  were  only  now  able  to  descry  my 
future  distinctly.  I  jumped  up  and  uttered  a 
single  loud  cry  that  sped  over  the  lake  like  a 
etormbird,  and  was  repeated  many  times  by  the 
distant  echo.  Thereupon  I  ran  back  to  town,  as 
if  carried  on  the  wings  of  the  wind.  The  men  on 
the  streets,  who  saw  me  running  past,  gazed  won- 
deringly  after  me.  Some  of  them  hailed  and 
tried  to  speak  to  me,  but  I  took  no  notice  of 
them,  ran  on,  reached  at  last  the  humble  dwell- 
ing of  my  parents,  and  there  I  fell  panting  and 
senseless.  They  lifted  me  up,  and  carried  me  to 
my  bed.  I  lay  on  it  motionless,  and  with  dilated 
eyes.  No  one  knew  my  thoughts,  or  heard  the 
voices  whispering  in  my  breast  and  ominously 
laughing.  I  stared  upward,  and  matured  my  plan 
of  operations.  My  poor  father  sat  all  night  long 
at  my  bedside,  weeping  and  imploring  me  to  look 
at  him,  and  tell  him  only  by  a  single  word,  a  single 
syllable,  that  I  recognized  him.  My  tongue  re- 
mained silent,  but  my  eyes  were  able  to  glance  at 
and  greet  the  poor  man.  But  why  tell  you  all 
the  particulars  of  my  wonderful  disease?  In 
short,  all  my  limbs  were  paralyzed,  and  even  my 


mind  seemed  affected  and  confused.  I  could  eat 
and  sleep,  but  I  was  unable  to  rise,  and  could  not 
utter  a  word.  The  physicians  of  our  small  town 
tried  all  the  remedies  of  their  science  to  cure  me. 
In  vain !  I  remained  dumb.  Only  once,  four 
weeks  afterward,  I  recovered  the  power  of 
speech.  It  was  in  the  night-time,  and  no  one 
was  with  me  but  my  poor  father,  who  passed 
nearly  every  night  at  my  bedside,  always  hoping 
for  a  moment  when  I  might  get  better — when 
the  spell  would  leave  my  tongue,  ana  the  power 
of  speech  be  restored.  This  moment  had  come 
now ;  I  intimated  it  to  my  father  with  my  eyes, 
stared  at  him,  and  said  in  a  slow  and  solemn 
voice,  '  Doctor  Binder,  at  Berlin,  is  alone  able  to 
cure  me ! '  " 

"Ah,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  drawing  a  deep 
breath,  "I  give  you  permission  to  laugh  at  me.  I 
was  just  as  foolish  as  your  father  was.  Up  to 
this  time  I  believed  in  the  reality  of  your  sick- 
ness, and  felt  quite  anxious  and  alarmed.  The 
words  you  uttered  during  that  night  quiet  me 
again,  and  illuminate  the  gloom,  like  a  welcome 
miner's  lamp  in  a  deep  shaft.  I  hope,  however, 
that  they  did  not  exert  the  same  effect  upon  your 
father." 

"  No,  your  excellency,  fortunately  they  did 
not,  and  the  proof  of  it  is  that  I  rode,  a  week 
afterward — in  a  comfortable  carriage,  and  ac- 
companied by  my  father — to  Berlin,  to  place  my- 
self under  the  treatment  of  Doctor  Binder." 

"  Did  the  doctor  promise  to  cure  you  ?  " 

"  He  gave  me  hopes  at  least  that  he  would  be 
able  to  do  so,  and,  after  accepting  three  months' 
pay  in  advance,  received  me  into  his  house,  and 
the  cure  commenced.  I  willingly  submitted  to 
his  piercing  glances  and  to  his  laying-on  of  hands. 
I  was  so  obliging  as  to  fall  asleep,  and  scarcely 
three  days  elapsed  when  I  began  already  to  be- 
come slightly  clairvoyant.  The  doctor  was  him- 
self surprised  at  the  rapid  effect  of  his  cure ;  he 
informed  some  of  his  distinguished  patrons  of  the 
presence  of  a  new  clairvoyante  at  his  house,  and 
invited  them  to  witness  my  next  awakening. 
Among  these  patrons  were  some  influential  cour- 
i  tiers,  Prince  Hatzfeld  and  Field-Marshal  Kal- 


AN   ADVENTURESS. 


109 


•  n! 


kreuth.  I  had  been  told  that  these  gentlemen 
were  the  most  zealous  adherents  of  the  French 
alliance,  and  the  most  ardent  admirers  of  Napo- 
leon. It  was  but  natural,  therefore,  that  when  I 
became  clairvoyant  on  that  day,  in  the  present 
of  these  gentlemen,  I  was  the  enraptured  proph- 
l  of  a  golden  future  for  Prussia,  provided 
we  maintained  the  alliance  with  France.  The 
two  courtiers  were  visibly  surprised  and  delighted 
at  my  prophecies ;  and  when  the  doctor  had  left 
the  room  for  a  moment,  I  heard  Prince  Hatzfeld 
say  to  Field-Marshal  KaJkreuth,  'Ah,  I  wish 
Hardenberg  were  here,  and  heard  the  predictions 
of  this  wondeiful  girl!  He  believes  in  clairvoy- 
ance, and  her  words,  therefore,  would  make  a 
profound  impression  upon  him  ! '  '  We  must  try 
to  have  him  brought  hither,'  said  Field-Marshal 
Kalkreuth  ;  '  we  must  try  to  influence  the  stub- 
born fellow  in  this  way.'  " 

"  That  was  a  very  clever  idea,"  said  Harden- 
berg, smiling ;  "  I  almost  envy  those  gentlemen 
their  very  pretty  intrigue.  They  then  made  of- 
fers to  you,  did  they  not  ?  " 

"No,  I  made  offers  to  them." 

i"  How  so  ?  " 
"  Listen  to  me.     When  the  gentlemen  left,  and 
I  was   again   alone  with  the  doctor,  I  suddenly 

i  awoke  from  my  trance ;  rising  from  my  couch,  I 
stepped  up  to  him,  and  made  him  a  respectful 
obeisance.  He  looked  at  me  in  dismay,  and 
seemed  paralyzed  with  stupefaction,  for  you 
know  all  my  limbs  were  palsied,  and  I  could  only 
move  my  tongue.  *  My  dear  doctor,'  I  said,  very 
calmly,  '  I  hope  I  have  proved  to  you  now  that  I 
am  possessed  of  considerable  talent  as  an  actress, 
and  that  I  am  as  well  versed  in  playing  my  part 
as  you  are  in  yours.  Both  of  us  try  to  obtain 
fame  and  wealth,  you  as  a  magnetizer,  I  as  a 
clair\  :  mutually  in  need  of 

each  other.  You  are  the  stage-manager,  and  pos- 
sessed of  a  tlu-atru  that  suits  me,  and  I  am  the 
leading  actreas,  without  whom  you  would  be  un- 
able to  perform  your  play  in  a  Mili<l'uctory  man- 
r.  Let  us,  therefore,  come  to  an  understanding 
and  make  an  agreement.'  Eh  bien,  your  excel- 
lency, we  did  come  to  an  understanding ;  \\e  did 


make  an  agreement.  With  a  view  to  &  better 
position  that  soon  would  be  accessible  to  me,  I 
remained  temporarily  the  first  actress,  and,  thanks 
to  my  performances,  I  attracted  an  audience  as 
distinguished  as  it  was  munificent." 

"  Now  *.  comprehend  every  thing.  You  must 
permit  me,  however,  another  question.  Are 
Prince  Ilatzfeld  and  Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth 
aware  that  you  are  nothing  but  an — actress  ?  " 

"  By  no  means,  your  excellency.  They  are  so 
kind  as  to  take  me  for  a  bona  fide  clairvoyante. 
The  doctor  told  them  that,  by  my  spiritual  con- 
nection with  him,  I  was  compelled  to  say,  think, 
and  do  whatever  he  wanted  and  commanded  me, 
and  that,  if  he  gave  me  my  instructions  while  1 
was  awake,  I  had  to  act  and  speak  in  my  clair- 
voyant state  in  strict  accordance  with  them.  In 
this  way  it  happened,  your  excellency,  that  I  was 
used  as  the  fox-tail  with  which  the  electrical  ma- 
chine is  set  in  motion — to  make  an  impression 
upon  you,  and  to  cure  you  of  your  hostility  to 
France.  The  doctor  became  the  confidant  of 
these  gentlemen,  who  desired  to  cure  you.  They 
surrounded  your  excellency  with  spies,  a  minute 
diary  was  kept  of  your  movements,  and  this  diary 
was  brought  early  every  morning  to  the  doctor, 
who  read  it  to  me,  and  we  agreed  then  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  I  should  avail  myself  of  the  in- 
formation." 

"  And  dupe  me ! "  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  laugh- 
ing. "  Fortunately,  I  did  not  allow  myself  to  be 
thus  dealt  with,  but  penetrated  the  handsome 
little  swindle  at  the  outset ;  yet  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  continue  playing  the  farce  for  some  time, 
because  it  afforded  me  an  opportunity  to  discover 
and  foil  the  intentions,  wishes,  and  schemes  of  my 
adversaries.  But  tell  me  now,  my  pretty  young 
lady,  what  would  have  happened  if  I  had  not 
allowed  you  to  perceive  to-day  that  I  was  aware 
of  the  whole  trick  ?  " 

"  In  that  case  I  myself  would   have  disclosed 

the  intrigue  to  your  excellency.     Did  I  not  send 

my  young  nurse  twice  to  your  house  yesterday, 

in  order  to  pray  you  to  come  to  me,  if  possible 

j  bst  night,  because  I  had  important  news  to  com 

I  municate  to  you  ?     Did  I  not  write  to  you  that 


110 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


the  doctor  would  not  be  at  Lome  during  the  whole 
evening,  and  that  I  might,  therefore,  communi- 
cate an  important  secret  to  you  without  being 
disturbed  ?  " 

"  Unfortunately,  I  was  not  at  home,  and  the 
supper  at  Marshal  Augereau's,  which  you  used  so 
skilfully  during  your  pretended  trance,  deprived 
me  of  an  hour  of  important  disclosures  !  But 
suppose  I  had  come,  and  met  you  alone ;  what 
would  you  have  told  me  then  ?  " 

"  Precisely  what  I  tell  you  now.  I  would  have 
fallen  down  before  you  as  I  do  now,  and,  clasping 
your  knees  in  this  manner,  would  have  said  what 
I  say  now:  'Mercy,  my  lord  and  master,  mercy  ! 
I  can  lie  and  dissimulate  no  longer  before  your 
noble  face;  your  eyes  embarrass  me;  your  smile 
overwhelms  me  with  shame;  the  farce  is  at  an 
end,  and  the  truth  commences.  The  truth,  how- 
ever, is  that  I  adore  you ;  that  I  will  no  longer 
unite  with  your  adversaries  against  you ;  that  I 
will  serve  you  and  none  but  you,  and  devote  to 
you  my  whole  life  and  every  pulsation  of  my 
heart!'"  She  attempted  to  conceal  her  face, 
bathed  in  a  flood  of  tears  ;  but  Hardenberg  softly 
laid  his  hands  upon  her  cheeks,  and,  gently  rais- 
ing her  head,  gazed  at  her  long  and  smilingly. 

"  What  talent ! "  he  said ;  "  in  truth,  I  admire 
you !  It  was  a  charming  performance.  True 
love  and  passion  could  express  themselves  no 
better,  or  surpass  your  imitation." 

She  arose  from  her  knees  and  looked  at  him 
with  eyes  flashing  with  anger.  "  You  do  not  be- 
lieve me  ?  "  she  asked,  almost  menacingly.  "  You 
suspect  me,  although  I  have  revealed  my  heart  to 
you  as  sincerely  as  I  have  ever  revealed  it  to 
Heaven  itself." 

"  Foolish  girl,  how  can  I  believe  you  ? "  he 
asked.  "  Have  you  not  gone  out  into  the  world 
to  plunge  into  adventures,  and  to  seek  your  for- 
tune ?  Have  you  not  dived  into  the  sea  to  find 
pearls  ?  Can  you  wish  me  to  play  the  agreeable 
part  of  your  safety-rope — that  is  all ! " 

"  No,  no ! "  she  exclaimed,  wildly  stamping  with 
her  feet ;  "  that  is  a  vile  slander !  Why  should  I 
choose  precisely  you  for  my  safety-rope? — why 
leveal  my  soul  to  you  ?  Do  you  not  believe  that 


those  gentlemen  who  are  using  me  against  you, 
who  worship  and  admire  me,  would  not  be  ready 
to  assist  me  ?  But  I  have  rejected  their  homage 
and  their  offers ;  I  despise  and  abhor  them  all, 
for  they  are  your  enemies.  I  hate  France,  I  de- 
test Napoleon,  for  you  are  opposed  to  the  French 
alliance,  and  you  have  been  reviled  by  Napoleon ; 
I  am  longing  for  an  alliance  with  Russia,  for  I 
know  this  to  be  your  wish,  and  I  have  no  wishes 
but  yours,  no  will  but  your  will !  " 

"  Ah  !  "  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  laughing,  "  this 
is  the  strangest  political  declaration  of  love  which 
woman  ever  made  to  man  ! " 

"  Great  Heaven  !  you  are  laughing  !  "  she  cried 
angrily.  "  You  do  not  believe  me,  then  ?  How 
shall  I  be  able  to  convince  you  ?  " 

"  I  will  show  you  a  way  to  do  so,"  said  Har- 
denberg, suddenly  growing  very  grave. 

"  Tell  me,  and  I  swear  to  you  that  I  will  try 
it!" 

"  Serve  me  in  the  same  manner  as  you  have 
hitherto  served  my  enemies.  Become  the  proph- 
etess of  my  policy,  as  you  have  been  the  proph- 
etess of  the  policy  of  my  opponents.  Permit  me 
to  become  the  prompter  of  the  clever  clairvoy- 
ante,  and  play  now  as  inimitably  against  my  ad- 
versaries as  you  have  played  for  them." 

Frederica  Hahn  burst  into  loud  laughter.  "  In 
truth,  that  is  a  splendid  idea,"  she  said,  "  a  re- 
venge which  your  excellency  has  devised  against 
the  other  gentlemen.  Here  is  my  hand.  I  swear 
to  serve  and  to  be  faithful  to  you  as  long  as  I 
live.  Do  you  now  believe  in  the  truth  of  my 
love  ?  " 

"Let  me  first  see  the  actions  inspired  by  this 
love,"  said  Hardenberg,  smiling.  "  I  will  prove 
to  you  immediately  that  I  confide  in  your  head, 
although  I  am  not  vain  enough  to  believe  in  your 
heart.  Listen  to  me,  then !  It  is  my  most  ardent 
desire  that  the  king  should  leave  Berlin,  and  bf 
withdrawn  from  the  influence  of  the  French 
Prince  Hatzfeld  and  old  Field-Marshal  Ealkrcuth. 
however,  insipt  that  he  remain  at  Berlin,  and 
thereby  manifest  the  adhesion  of  Prussia  to  the 
alliance  with  France.  I  suspect,  nay,  I  might 
say,  I  know,  that  the  king  is  in  danger,  and  that, 


AN  ADVENTURESS. 


Ill 


as  soon  as  he  utters  a  free  and  bold  word,  the 
French  will  use  it  as  a  pretext  to  seize  his  person 
and  imprison  him,  as  they  have  done  Charles  and 
Ferdinand  of  Spain.  Caution,  therefore,  the  san- 
guine and  credulous  gentlemen ;  point  out  to  them 
the  dangers  menacing  the  king  here ;  tell  them 
that  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  his  majesty  to  save 
himself  for  his  people ;  shout  with  your  inspired 
and  enthusiastic  voice:  'Go!  Destruction  will 
overwhelm  you  at  Berlin  !  Save  *he  king !  Con- 
vey him  to  Breslau ! ' " 

"  I  will  play  my  part  so  f  kilfully  that  even  the 
boldest  will  be  filled  with  dismay,"  cried  Freder- 
iea,  with  flaming  ejes,  u  and  that  dear  old  Field- 
Marshal  Kalkreuth  will  implore  the  king  on  his 
knees  to  leave  Berlin,  and  go  to  Breslau.  But, 
when  I  have  played  this  part  for  you — when  you 
have  attained  your  object,  and  I  have  given  you 
proofs  of  my  fidelity  and  obedience — will  you 
then  believe  that  I  love  you  ?  " 

"  We  shall  see,"  he  said,  smiling.  "  I  am,  per- 
haps, not  as  wise  as  Ulysses,  and  shall  not  fill  my 
ears  with  wax,  but  listen  to  the  song  of  the  siren, 
even  at  the  risk  of  perishing  in  the  whirlpool  of 
passion.  Let  us  not  impose  upon  ourselves  any 
promises  concerning  the  destiny  of  our  hearts ; 
but  your  position  in  the  world  is  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent question.  As  to  this,  I  must  make  you 
promises,  and  swear  that  I  shall  fulfil  them.  You 
:iat  you  will  serve  me,  enter  into  my 

.!«--,  and  support  my  policy?" 

•nir  excellency,  I  swear  to  you  that  your 
nents  themselves  shall  beseech  the  king  to 

ve  Berlin,  and  renounce  France." 

"  Well,  then,  on  the  day  the  king  arrives  safely 
at  Breslau,  you  will  receive  from  me  a  document 
securing  you  an  annuity  on  which  you  will  be 
able  to  live  independently  here  at  Berlin." 

"Ami  is  that  all?"  she  asked,  in  a  cor.tempt- 
<•.     u  You    promise  me  nothing  but  mon- 
ey to  keep  me  from  starvation?" 

"No,"  s.ii'i  Hardenberg,  smiling,  "I  promise 
you  more  than  that.  I  promise  that  little  Fred- 
erica  Hahn,  the  watchmaker's  daughter,  shall  be 
transformed  into  an  aristocratic  lady,  and  that  I 

ill  procure  you  a  husband,  who  will  give  you  so 


distinguished  a  name  that  the  daughter  of  the 
Marquise  de  Barbasson  need  not  be  ashamed  of 
it.  Are  you  content  with  that,  my  beauty  ?  " 

"  Would  it  be  necessary  for  me  to  love  and 
honor  the  husband  whom  your  excellency  will 
give  me  ?  "  asked  Frederica,  after  a  pause. 

"  Suppose  1  reply  in  the  affirmative  ?  "  asked 
Hardenberg. 

"  Then  I  answer :  I  prefer  remaining  Frederica 
Hahn,  for  then  I  shall  at  least  have  the  right  to 
sit  at  your  feet  and  worship  you,  and  no  trouble- 
some husband  will  be  able  to  prevent  my  doing 
so." 

i4  Well,  then,  my  charming  little  fool,  I  shall 
select  for  you  a  husband  who  will,  like  a  deus  ex 
machina,  appear  only  in  order  to  confer  his  name 
upon  you  at  the  altar,  and  who  will  then  disap- 
pear again.  Do  you  consent  to  that  ?  " 

"  Your  excellency,  that  would  be  precisely  such 
a  husband  as  I  would  like  to  have,  and  as  my  im- 
agination has  dreamed  of — a  husband  saw*  con- 
sequence— not  a  man,  but  a  manikin ! " 

"  I  shall,  however,  see  to  it  that  this  manikin, 
besides  his  name,  will  lay  at  your  feet  another 
splendid  wedding-gift,  and  a  corleille  de  noce, 
which  will  be  worthy  of  you.  You  accept  my 
offers,  then,  my  friend  ?  " 

u  N'o,  unless  you  add  something  to  them." 

"  What  is  it,  Frederica  ?  " 

"Your  love,  your  confidence,  your  belief  in 
my  love ! "  she  exclaimed,  sinking  down  at  his 

••  Ali,"  said  Hardenberg,  "let  us  not  be  so  au- 
dacious as  to  attempt  to  raise  the  veil  that  may 
perhaps  conceal  a  magnificent  future  from  our 
eyes!"» 

*  This  scene  is  not  fictitious,  but  baaed  upon  the  ver- 
bal statements  and  disclosures  of  the  lady  who  played  tt 
prominent  a  part  in  it— L.  M. 


112 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

THE     TWO     DIPLOMATISTS. 

THE  royal  family  celebrated  an  important  festi 
val  at  Potsdam  on  the  20th  of  January.  Crown 
Prince  Frederick  William  had  been  confirmed  at 
the  palace  church.  In  the  presence  of  the  whole 
royal  family,  of  all  high  officers  and  foreign  am- 
bassadors, the  prince,  who  was  now  seventeen 
years  of  age,  had  made  his  confession  of  faith  and 
taken  an  oath  to  the  venerable  and  noble  Coun- 
sellor Sack  that  he  would  faithfully  adhere  to 
God's  Word,  and  worship  Him  in  times  of  weal 
and  woe.  After  the  ceremonies  at  church  were 
over,  a  gala-dinner  was  to  take  place  at  court, 
and  invitations  had  been  issued  not  only  to  the 
members  of  the  royal  family,  but  to  the  dignita- 
ries and  functionaries,  as  well  as  the  ambassadors, 
who  had  come  over  from  Berlin.  This  dinner, 
however,  was  suddenly  postponed.  The  king  was 
said  to  have  been  unexpectedly  taken  ill.  It  was 
asserted  that  the  excitement  which  he  had  under- 
gone at  church  had  greatly  affected  his  nerves, 
bringing  on  a  bleeding  at  the  nose,  which  had 
already  lasted  several  hours,  and  which  even 
the  most  energetic  remedies  were  unable  to  re- 
lieve. 

The  ambassadors  repaired  to  the  palace  in 
order  to  ascertain  more  about  the  health  of  the 
king,  and  the  principal  physician  of  his  majesty 
was  able  at  least  to  assure  them  that  his  majesty's 
condition  was  not  by  any  means  alarming  or  dan- 
gerous, but  that  the  king  needed  repose,  and  could 
not,  according  to  his  intention,  go  to  Berlin  that 
day,  but  would  remain  at  Potsdam,  and,  for  a  few 
days,  abstain  entirely  both  from  engaging  in  pub- 
lic affairs  and  receiving  visitors.  This  news  did 
not  seem  to  alarm  any  one  more  seriously  than 
the  French  ambassador,  Count  St.  Marsan.  He 
left  the  royal  palace  in  depressed  spirits,  and,  en- 
tering his  carriage,  ordered  the  driver  in  a  hur- 
ried tone  to  return  to  Berlin  as  fast  as  possible. 
Scarcely  three  hours  elapsed  when  the  carriage 
stopped  in  front  of  the  French  legation,  and  the 
footman  hastened  to  open  the  coach-door.  Count 
St.  Marsan,  however,  did  not  rise  from  his  feet, 


» 

; 

•*/\ 


but  beckoned  his  valet  de  chambre  to  come  to 
him.  "  Have  no  letters  arrived  for  me  ?  "  he 
asked. 

"Yes,  your  excellency;    this  was  brought 
the  legation  a   few    minutes    since,"   said    the 
valet,  handing   a    small,  neatly-folded   letter   to 
the  count. 

St.  Marsan  opened  the  note  hastily.  It  con- 
tained nothing  but  the  following  words  :  "  I  have 
just  returned  from  Potsdam.  I  am  probably  an 
hour  ahead  of  your  excellency,  for  I  bad  caused 
three  relays  to  be  kept  in  readiness  for  me.  As 
soon  as  your  excellency  has  arrived,  I  pray  you 
to  inform  me  of  it,  that  I  may  hasten  to  you. — H." 

"  To  the  residence  of  Chancellor  von  Harden- 
bevg  !  "  said  the  count,  putting  the  letter  into  his 
breast-pocket,  and  leaning  back  on  the  cushions. 
The  carriage  rolled  away,  and  ten  minutes  after- 
ward it  stopped  in  front  of  the  residence  of  the 
chancellor  of  state.  St.  Marsan  alighted  with 
youthful  alacrity,  and,  keeping  pace  with  the 
footman  who  was  to  announce  his  arrival,  has- 
tened into  the  house  and  ascended  the  staircase. 
At  the  first  anteroom  the  chancellor  met  him, 
greeting  him  with  polite  words  and  conducting 
him  into  his  cabinet.  "  You  have  anticipated 
me,  your  excellency,"  he  said  ;  "  my  carriage  was 
in  readiness,  and  I  only  waited  for  a  message 
from  you  to  repair  immediately  to  your  resi- 
dence." 

"  It  is,  then,  highly  important  news  that  your 
excellency  will  be  kind  enough  to  communicate  to 
me  ?  "  asked  St.  Marsan,  uneasily. 

"On  the  contrary,  I  hoped  you  would  commu- 
nicate important  news  to  me.  I  cannot  conceal 
from  you  that  we  are  all  in  great  suspense  and 
excitement ;  and  I  suppose  it  is  unnecessary  for 
me  to  confess  to  so  skilful  and  experienced  a 
diplomatist  as  your  excellency,  that  the  king's 
illness  and  bleeding  at  the  nose  were  mere  fictions, 
and  that  his  majesty  thereby  wished  only  to  avoid 
meeting  you." 

"Indeed,  that  was  what  I  suspected,"  ex- 
claimed St.  Marsan  ;  "  for  the  rest,  every  thing 
at  Potsdam  appeared  to  me  very  strange  and  in- 
explicable; I  confess,  however,  that  I  do  not 


THE   TWO   DIPLOMATISTS. 


113 


comprehend  what  has  aroused  the  king's  indig- 
nation, and  rendered  my  person  so  offensive  to 
him  ?  " 

"What!"  asked  Hurdenberg,  with  an  air  of 
astonishment.  "  Your  excellency  does  not  com- 
prehend it  ?  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  this 
indignation  is  but  too  well-grounded.  You  know 
the  fidelity  and  perseverance  with  which  Prussia 
has  adhered  to  the  French  alliance ;  that  the 
king  has  withstood  all  promises  of  Russia,  how- 
ever alluring  their  character,  and  has  proved  by 
word  and  deed  that  he  intends  to  remain  faithful 
to  his  system,  and  never  to  dissolve  the  alliance 
with  France,  And  now,  when  my  zeal,  eloquence, 
and  untiring  expositions  of  the  utility  of  this  alli- 
ance have  succeeded  in  rendering  him  deaf  to  all 
promises,  and  attaching  his  heart  more  sincerely 
to  France,  you  mortify  and  insult  the  king  in  so 
defiant  a  manner !  Ah,  count,  this  is  to  postpone 
inment  of  my  object  to  a  very  distant 
period,  and  to  take  from  me,  perhaps  forever, 
the  order  I  am  longing  for.  For  how  can  I  keep 
my  word  ? — how  can  I  obtain  the  king's  consent 
to  the  betrothal  of  the  crown  prince  with  a  prin- 
of  the  house  of  Napoleon,  if  France  treats 
im  with  so  little  deference  and  respect,  and 
proves  to  him  that  she  herself  docs  not  regard 
the  treaties  which  she  has  concluded  with  Prussia 
as  imposing  any  obligations  upon  her?  " 

"But  your  excellency  drives  me  to  despair," 
exclaimed  Count  S  .  "for  I  confess  to 

you  again  that  I  do  not  comprehend  what  act  of 
ours  would  ju?tii'\  re  reproaches." 

"  Well,  permit  me,  then,  to  remind  you  of  what 
has  happened,  nnd  request  a  kind  explanation. 
Your  excellency,  I  suj.p  >-e,  is  aware  that  the  di- 
on  of  (iener.il  (Jn'uier,  nineteen  thousand 
:roathfd  by  forced  marches  from 
iy  and  occupied  Brandenburg:  ?  " 

I   am  aware  of   tint,"  said  St.    '1 
itatindy;  "but    these    troops    will  rest  there 
a  few  :  ;  march/' 

"On  C  >j  th0y 

.«"!   to   remain   in   B:\ui'!onburjr.     Their 
nders  declare  emphatically  that  they  will 
stationed  in  this  province,  and  Brandenburg  is 


already  so  full  of  French  soldiers  that  I  do  not 
see  how  quarters  and  sustenance  are  to  be  pro- 
vided for  an  additional  corps  of  nineteen  thou- 
sand men.  Besides,  this  augmentation  of  the 
French  forces  is  contrary  to  the  express  stipula- 
tions of  the  existing  treaties,  and  it  is,  therefore, 
but  natural  that  this  fact,  which  in  itself  would 
seem  to  point  to  a  hostile  intention,  should  have 
excited  the  serious  displeasure  of  the  king." 

"  But  the  extraordinary  circumstances  in  which 
the  French  array  has  been  placed  ever  since  the 
disastrous  campaign  of  Russia,  I  believe  ought  to 
excuse  extraordinary  measures,"  said  St.  Marsan, 
in  his  embarrassment.  "His  majesty  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon,  on  learning  how  offensive  to  the 
king  is  this  increase  in  the  number  of  troops  sta- 
tioned in  the  province  of  Brandenburg,  will  as- 
suredly hasten  to  explain  the  necessity  of  the 
measure,  and,  however  late  it  may  be,  request  hia 
ally's  consent  to  it." 

"Ah,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  quickly,  "you 
admit,  then,  that  this  reenforcement  in  Branden- 
burg is  intended  to  be  permanent  ?  But  I  have 
not  yet  laid  all  my  complaints  before  your  excel- 
lency. I  believe  you  are  aware  that,  according 
to  the  last  convention  between  France  and  Prus- 
sia, no  French  troops  at  all  are  to  occupy  Pots- 
dam and  its  environs,  and  that  they  are  not  to 
stay  there  even  for  a  single  night  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  I  am  aware  of  this  stipulation,  and  be- 
lieve it  has  hitherto  been  carefully  observed." 

"  Hitherto — that  is  to  say,  until  to-day  I  But 
this  forenoon,  at  the  very  hour  we  were  at  church 
witnessing  the  confirmation  of  the  prince,  whom 
you  wish  to  be  as  a  new  tie  between  France  and 
Prussia,  this  stipulation  was  violated  in  as  incom- 
prehensible as  mortifying  a  manner.  Four  thou- 
sand men  of  Grdnier's  division  have  marched  this 
morning  from  Brandenburg  to  Potsdam,  and  have 
trie.l  forcibly — do  you  understand  me,  your  ex- 
,., llency  ? — forcibly  to  occupy  the  city.  The  mu- 
nicipal  authorities  vainly  endeavored  to  assure 
them  that  this  was  entirely  inadmissible,  and  it 
was  only  after  a  very  stormy  scene  that  they  suc- 
ceeded in  prevailing  upon  the  troops  to  leave 
Potsdam,  and  withdraw  several  miles  from  the 


114 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


city.*  If  no  blood  was  shed,  it  was  not  owing  to 
the  disposition  of  your  troops,  but  to  the  pru- 
dence and  moderation  of  the  Prussian  authorities. 
Now,  count,  you  fully  comprehend  the  exaspera- 
tion of  my  master,  the  king;  and  I  hope  you  will 
give  me  the  satisfactory  explanation  which  he  has 
commissioned  me  to  request." 

"Your  excellency,"  said  St.  Marsan,  greatly 
surprised,  "  I  really  do  not  comprehend  why  the 
king  should  be  so  irritated  at  this  trifling  devi- 
ation from  the  stipulation  of  the  treaties.  You 
yourself  said  it  would  be  impossible  to  find  quar- 
ters and  sustenance  for  so  large  a  number  of 
troops  in  the  province  of  Brandenburg.  This 
fact  involved  the  military  commanders  in  difficul- 
ties, and  explains  why  they  at  last  thought  of 
sending  a  detachment  to  Potsdam,  where  there  are 
so  much  room  and  so  many  vacant  barracks.  We 
could  not  suppose  that  the  king  would  object  to 
this,  and  that  the  sight  of  the  brave  French  sol- 
diers would  fill  the  ally  of  the  Emperor  of  the 
French  with  feelings  of  displeasure  and  indigna- 
tion. But,  you  see,  the  troops  yielded  to  the  will 
of  the  king,  and  left  the  city." 

"  But  they  remained  near  enough  to  be  able  to 
reoccupy  it  at  the  first  signal." 

"  And  does  your  excellency  believe  that  the 
French  authorities  might  have  occasion  to  call 
troops  to  their  assistance  ? "  asked  Count  St. 
Marsan,  casting  a  quick,  searching  glance  at  the 
chancellor. 

But  Hardenberg's  countenance  remained  per- 
fectly calm  and  unchanged ;  only  the  faint  glim- 
mer of  a  smile  was  playing  round  his  thin  lips. 
"  I  do  not  know,"  he  said,  "  what  motives  might 
induce  the  French  authorities  to  call  troops  to 
their  assistance,  as  they  are  not  in  a  hostile 
country,  but  in  that  of  an  ally,  unless  it  were  that 
they  look  upon  every  free  expression  of  the  royal 
will  as  an  unfriendly  demonstration,  and  interpret 
as  an  act  of  hostility,  for  instance,  the  king's  de- 
termination not  to  reside  at  Berlin,  but  at  Pots- 
dam, or,  according  to  his  pleasure,  in  any  other 
city  of  the  kingdom." 

*  Beitzke's  "History  of  the  War  of  Liberation,  vol. 
..  p.  162. 


"  The  king,  then,  intends  to  leave  Potsdam  aud 
remove  to  another  city  ? "  inquired  St.  Marsan, 
quickly. 

"  I  do  not  say  that  exactly,"  replied  Harden- 
berg,  smiling  and  hesitating:  ''but  I  should  not 
be  greatly  surprised  if,  to  avoid  the  quarrels  be- 
tween the  French  and  Prussian  authorities,  and 
not  to  witness  perhaps  another  violation  of  the 
treaties,  and  a  repeated  attempt  of  the  French 
commanders  to  occupy  Potsdam,  he  should  re- 
move to  another  city,  where  his  majesty  would  be 
safe  from  such  annoyances." 

"  The  king  intends  to  leave  Potsdam,"  said  St. 
Marsan  to  himself.  He  added  aloud  :  "  I  do  not 
know,  however,  of  any  city  in  the  kingdom  of 
Prussia  where,  owing  to  the  present  cordial  rela- 
tions between  Prussia  and  France,  there  are  no 
French  authorities  and  French  troops. — Yes,  it 
occurs  to  me  that,  according  to  the  treaties  con- 
cluded last  year,  there  are  no  French  troops  in 
the  province  of  Silesia,  except  on  the  military 
road  from  Glogau  to  Dresden,  and  that  they  and 
their  auxiliaries  are  expressly  forbidden  to  pass 
through  Breslau.  Breslau,  then,  would  be  a  city 
where  the  king  would  not  run  the  risk  of  meeting 
French  troops." 

"  You  admit,  then,  that  it  is  dangerous  for  the 
king  to  meet  them  ?  In  that  case  it  would  truly 
be  a  very  justifiable  and  wise  step  for  the  king  to 
repair  to  Breslau. " 

"  It  is  settled,  then,  that  the  king  will  go  to 
Breslau  ?  "  asked  St.  Marsan.  "  Your  excellency 
intended  to  be  so  kind  as  to  intimate  this  to 
me?" 

"  It  is  settled,  then,  that  the  king  is  in  danger 
near  the  French  troops  ? "  asked  Hardenberg. 
"  Your  excellency  intended  to  be  so  kind  as  to 
intimate  this  to  me  ?  Ah,  it  seems  to  me  «re 
have  been  playing  hide  and  seek  for  half  an 
hour,  while  both  of  us  really  ought  to  be  frank 
and  sincere." 

"  Well,  then,  let  us  be,"  exclaimed  St.  Marsan. 
"  I  have  likewise  reason  to  complain,  and  must 
demand  explanations.  What  does  it  mean  that 
the  Prussian  government  has  suddenly  dispatched 
orders  to  all  provincial  authorities  to  recall  the 


THE   TWO   DIPLOMATISTS. 


115 


furloughed  soldiers  and  proceed  to  another  draft ; 
that  artillery-horses  are  bought,  and  a  vast  quan- 
tity of  uniforms  made  ?  " 

"If  means  simply,  your  excellency,  that  tin- 
King  of  Prussia  expects  to  be  requested  by  his 
ally,  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  to  furnish  him 
additional  auxiliaries,  and  that  he  hastens  to 
make  the  necessary  preparations,  to  be  able  to 
comply  at  the  earliest  moment.  These  prepara- 
tions, moreover,  had  to  be  made  in  so  hasty  a  man- 
ner, because,  as  soon  as  the  Russians  advance 
farther  into  the  interior  of  Prussia,  of  course  both 
a  conscription  and  the  recall  of  the  furloughed 
soldiers  would  be  impossible." 

"  But  this  is  not  all.  The  king  yesterday  au- 
thorized the  minister  of  finance  to  issue  ten  mil- 
lion dollars  in  treasury-notes,  to  be  taken  at  par. 
What  is  this  enormous  sum  destined  for,  M. 
Chancellor  ?  Why  does  the  king  suddenly  need 
so  many  millions  ?  " 

"  You  ask  what  the  king  needs  so  much  money 
for?  Sir,  the  clause  ordering  these  treasury-notes 
at  par  would  be  a  sufficient  reply  to  your  ques- 
tion. When  a  government  is  unable  to  procure 
funds  in  any  other  way  than  by  compelling  its 
x  subjects  to  take  its  treasury-notes  at  par,  it  proves 
that  it  has  no  credit  to  negotiate  a  loan — no  prop- 
rrty  which  it  might  render  available;  it  proves 
that  not  only  its  treasury,  but  the  resources  of 
the  country,  are  completely  exhausted,  and  that  it 
has  reached  a  point  where  it  must  either  go  into 
hopeless  bankruptcy  or  endeavor  to  maintain  it- 
Keif  by  palliatives.  Prussia  has  come  to  this. 
us  not  examine  by  whose  fault,  or  by  what 
amira illation  of  expenses  and  obligations,  this 
condition  of  affairs  has  been  brought  about ;  bat 
the  fact  remain?,  and,  as  the  king  is  unwilling 
that  the  -  tatc  should  be  declared  bankrupt,  he 
resorts  to  a  palliative,  and  issues  ten  million  dol- 
lars in  treasury-notes.  In  this  manner  he  obtains 
funds,  is  enabled  to  relieve  the  distress  of  his 
subjects,  and  to  procure  horses  and  uniforms  lor 
the  new  re.Lnments  to  join  the  forces  of  his  ally, 
the  Emperor  Napoleon,  Does  not  this  account 
for  the  issue?  Are  you  satisfied  with  this  expla- 
nation, count  t " 


"  I  am  ;  for  I  have  no  doubt  that  yojr  excel- 
Uney  is  sincere." 

"  Have  we  not  yet  proved  that  we  are  sin- 
cere ?  "  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  in  a  tone  of  vir- 
tuous indignation.  "Notwithstanding  all  allure- 
ments and  promises  by  which  Russia  is  trying  to 
gain  us  over  to  her  side,  we  are  standing  by 
France — and,  please  do  not  forget,  at  a  time  when 
she  is  overwhelmed  with  calamities,  we  give  her 
our  soldiers,  and,  the  old  ones  having  perished, 
recruit  and  equip  new  ones  for  her  ;  we  make  all 
possible  sacrifices — nay,  we  even  run  the  risk  of 
making  the  king  lose  the  sympathies  of  his  own 
subjects,  who,  you  know,  are  not  very  favorable 
to  a  continuation  of  this  alliance!  And  still 
France  doubts  the  king's  fidelity  and  my  own 
heart-felt  devotion  !  She  entertains  such  doubts 
at  a  moment  when  I  declare  it  to  be  my  chief  ob- 
ject to  effect  a  marriage  of  the  crown  prince  with 
an  imperial  princtss ;  and  when  I  have  already 
succeeded  so  far  that  I  believe  I  may  almost  posi- 
tively promise  that  the  king  will  give  his  con- 
sent." 

"  What ! "  exclaimed  St.  Marsan,  surprised. 
"  The  king  consents  to  such  a  marriage  ?  " 

"He  will,"  said  Hardenberg,  smiling,  "pro- 
vided France  make  the  first  overtures,  secure  him 
important  advantages,  and  raise  the  kingdom  to  a 
higher  rank  among  the  states  of  Europe."  * 

"  Oh,  the  emperor  will  grant  Prussia  all  this," 
said  St.  Marsan,  joyously.  "  It  is  too  important 
to  his  majesty,  when  a  princess  of  his  family  as- 
cends the  throne  of  Prussia,  that  he  should  not 
willingly  comply  with  all  the  wishes  of  his  future 
brother,  the  King  of  Prussia." 

"Then  we  are  agreed,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg, 
offering  his  hand  to  the  count,  "  and  all  misun- 
indings  have  been  satisfactorily  explained. 
Only  confide  in  us — firmly  believe  that  the  system 
of  the  king  has  undergone  no  alteration — that  no 
o\t Ttures,  dim-t  or  indirect,  have  been  made  to 
Kus-i.i,  ami  that  he  has  rejected  the  offers  which 
she  has  made  to  him.  The  repudiation  of  Gen- 
er.il  York's  course  is  a  sufficient  proof  of  all  this. 

•  Beltzk<%  vol.  L,  p.  ISO. 


116 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


Only  believe  our  protestations,  count,  and  en- 
treat your  emperor  to  dismiss  the  distrust  he  still 
seems  to  feel,  and  which  alienates  the  hearts  of 
the  greatest  emperor  and  the  noblest  king." 

"  I  will  inform  bis  majesty  of  the  very  words 
your  excellency  has  addressed  me,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  emperor  on  reading  them  will  have 
the  same  gratification  with  which  I  have  heard 
them.  Thanks,  therefore,  your  excellency  !  And 
now  I  will  not  detain  you  longer  from  enjoying 
your  dinner.  Both  of  us  have  returned  from 
Potsdam  without  dining,  and  it  is  but  natural  that 
we  should  make  up  for  it  now.  Therefore,  fare- 
well, your  excellency  !^' 

Hardenberg  gave  him  his  arm,  and  conducted 
him  with  kind  and  friendly  words  into  the  ante- 
room. 

"Does  your  excellency  think,"  said  St.  Marsan, 
on  taking  leave,  "  that  I  may  venture  to-morrow 
to  go  to  Potsdam  and  personally  inquire  about 
his  majesty's  health  ?  " 

"  Your  excellency  had  better  wait  two  or  three 
days,"  said  Hardenberg,  after  a  moment's  reflec- 
tion. "  By  that  time  I  shall  have  succeeded  in 
overcoming  the  king's  displeasure,  and  if  the 
French  troops  in  the  mean  time  have  made  no 
further  attempts  to  occupy  Potsdam,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  have  withdrawn  still  farther  from  the 
city,  it  will  be  easy  for  me  to  persuade  the  king 
that  the  whole  occurrence  was  a  mere  misunder- 
standing. Have  patience,  then,  for  three  days,  my 
dear  count ! " 

"Well,  then,  for  three  days.  But  then  I  shall 
see  the  king  at  Potsdam,  shall  I  not  ?  " 

"  Ah,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  smiling,  "  how 
can  I  know  where  it  will  please  his  majesty  to  be 
three  days  hence  ?  The  king  is  his  own  master, 
and  I  should  think  at  liberty  to  go  hither  and 
thither  as  he  pleases,  provided  he  does  not  go  to 
the  Russian  camp,  and  I  would  be  able  to  prevent 
that." 

"It  is  certain,"  muttered  Count  St.  Marsan, 
when  he  was  alone  in  his  carriage,  "  it  is  certain 
that  the  king  will  no  longer  be  at  Potsdam 
three  days  hence,  but  intends  to  remove  secretly, 
and  establish  his  court  at  a  greater  distance.  The 


moment,  therefore,  has  come  when  we  must  act 
energetically.  The  troops  have  come  for  thi* 
very  purpose,  and  the  emperor's  orders  instruct 
us,  in  case  the  king  should  manifest  any  inclina- 
tion to  renew  his  former  alliance  with  Russia* 
and  to  break  with  France,  immediately  to  seize 
the  king's  person,  in  order  to  deprive  the  Prussian 
nation,  which  is  hostile  to  us,  of  its  leader  and 
standard-bearer.  Well,  then,  the  orders  of  the 
emperor  must  be  carried  into  execution.  We 
must  try  to  have  the  king  arrested  to-day.  I 
shall  immediately  take  the  necessary  steps,  and 
send  couriers  to  Grenier's  troops."  The  car- 
riage stopped,  and  Count  St.  Marsan,  forgetful 
of  his  dinner,  hastened  into  his  cabinet,  and  sent 
for  his  private  secretaries.  An  hour  afterward 
two  couriers  left  the  French  legation,  and  shortly 
after  an  elegant  carriage  rolled  from  the  gateway. 
Two  footmen,  who  did  not  wear  their  liveries, 
were  seated  on  the  high  box ;  but  no  one  was 
able  to  perceive  who  sat  inside,  for  the  silken 
window-curtains  had  been  lowered. 

Chancellor  von  Hardenberg,  after  the  French 
ambassador  left  him,  instead  of  going  to  the  din- 
ing-room, returned  to  his  cabinet.  Like  Count 
St.  Marsan,  he  seemed  to  have  forgotten  his  din- 
ner. With  his  hands  folded  behind  him,  he  wag 
slowly  pacing  his  room,  and  a  proud  smile  was 
beaming  in  his  face.  "  I  hope,"  he  said  to  him 
self,  "I  have  succeeded  in  reassuring,  and  yet 
alarming  the  count.  He  believes  in  me  and  in 
the  sincerity  of  my  sentiments,  and  hence  in  the 
fidelity  of  Prussia  to  France,  and  this  reassures 
him ;  but  he  understood  very  well  the  hints  1 
dropped  about  the  possibility  of  the  king  leaving 
Potsdam  and  going  to  Breslau,  and  this  alarms 
him.  He  may,  perhaps,  be  hot-headed  enough  to 
allow  himself  to  be  carried  away  by  his  uneasi- 
ness, and  make  an  attempt  to  seize  the  king.  If 
he  should,  I  have  won  my  game,  and  shall  succeed 
in  withdrawing  the  king  from  his  reach  by  convey- 
ing him  to  Breslau.  Well,  fortunately,  I  have  a 
reliable  agent  at  the  count's  house,  and  if  any  thing 
should  happen,  he  will  take  good  care  to  let  me 
know  it  immediately.  I  may,  therefore,  tranquilly 
wait  for  further  developments."  At  this  moment 


THE    TWO   DIPLOMATISTS. 


117 


the  door  opened,  and  Conrad,  the  old  valet  de 
chambre,  entered,  presenting  a  letter  on  a  silver 
tray  to  the  chancellor  of  state. 

"  From  whom  ?  "  asked  Hardenber.L'. 

"From  her!"  whispered  Conrad,  anxiously. 
14  Her  nuree  brought  the  letter  a  few  minutes 
ago,  and  she  says  it  ought  to  be  at  once  deliv- 
ered to  your  excellency." 

"Very  well,"  said  Hardenberg,  beckoning  to 
Conrad  to  leave  the  room.  But  Conrad  did  not 
go ;  he  remained  at  the  door,  and  cast  imploring 
glances  on  his  master. 

44  Well,"  inquired  Hardenberg,  impatiently, 
44  do  you  want  to  tell  me  any  thing  else  ?  " 

44 1  do,"  said  Conrad,  timidly  ;  "  I  just  wished 
to  tell  you  that  her  excellency  Madame  von  Har- 
denberg has  condescended  again  this  morning  to 
box  my  ears,  because  I  refused  to  tell  her  whither 
his  excellency  the  chancellor  went  every  even- 
ing." 

44  Poor  Conrad !"  said  Hardenberg,  smiling, 
44  my  wife  will  assuredly  pat  your  cheeks  until 
they  are  insensible.  There,  take  this  little  golden 
plaster." 

He  offered  a  gold-piece  to  Conrad,  but  the  faith- 
ful servant  refused  to  accept  it.  "  No,  your  ex- 
cellency, I  do  not  wish  it,  for  I  have  as  much  as  I 
need,  and  I  know  that  your  excellency  will  t:ike 
care  of  me  when  I  am  too  old  and  feeble  to  work. 
I  only  intended  to  take  the  liberty  to  caution 
your  excellency,  so  that  you  may  be  a  little  on 
your  guard.  Madame  von  Hardenberg  has  told 
her  lady's-maid  that  she  intends  to  follow  the 
chancellor  to-night,  in  order  to  find  out  whither 
he  goes,  and  that  she  then  would  go  in  the  morn- 
ing to  the  lady  and  make  such  a  fuss  as  to  deter 
her  from  receiving  your  excellency  any  more. 
Tin-  lad\'s-!iiaitl  has  confided  this  to  me,  and  or- 
dered me  to  report  it  immediately,  for  you  know 
that  we  all  would  willingly  <lie  for  you,  and  that 
even  the  female  servants  nflx-r  <-\e.-llcnoy  remain 
with  her  only  because  they  love  and  adore  you, 
»nd  because  it  is  a  great  honor  to  In-long  to  the 

I  household  of  a  mister  whom  nil   Berlin  1<>\ 
reveres." 
•*  I  thank  you  and  the  others  for  your  attach- 


; 


ment  and  fidelity,"  said  Hardenberg,  nodding 
kindly  to  his  old  servant.  "  Tell  my  wife's  maid 
that  I  am  especially  obliged  to  her,  and  that  I 
desire  her  to  continue  serving  me  faithfully.  For 
what  you  all  have  to  suffer  by  the  displeasure  of 
my  wife,  I  shall  take  pains  to  indemnify  you,  par- 
ticularly if  you  mention  as  little  as  possible  to 
outsiders  any  thing  about  the  state  of  affairs  pre- 
vailing in  my  family,  and  the  sufferings  we  all 
have  to  undergo  in  consequence  of  it.  Go,  Con- 
rad ;  be  reticent  and  vigilant !  I  shall  profit  by 
your  advice,  and  my  wife  will  be  none  the  wiser." 
He  nodded  once  more  to  Conrad,  and,  when  the 
servant  left  the  room,  Hardenberg  turned  his  eyes 
again  toward  the  little  note  which  he  still  held 
unopened  in  his  hand.  He  unfolded  it  hastily  and 
read.  It  contained  only  the  following  words: 
"  My  predictions  are  producing  a  good  effect. 
Dear  Kockeritz  is  greatly  alarmed  for  the  safety 
of  his  beloved  king,  and  even  old  Kalkreuth  was 
startled  by  the  terrible  prophecies  of  the  clair- 
voyante.  I  am  sure  both  of  them  will  advise  the 
king  to  shun  the  danger,  and  transfer  the  scat  of 
government  to  some  other  place.  Heaven  grant 
that  their  words  may  be  impressive,  and  that  we 
may  attain  our  object — for  you,  the  liberty  of 
Prussia ;  for  me,  the  thraldom  of  my  heart !  For 
what  else  do  I  wish  than  to  be  your  slave,  and  to 
lie  at  your  feet,  to  narrate  to  you  the  story  of  my 
love?  For  you  I  wish  to  be  an  humble  slave; 
for  all  others,  Diavolezzi  Frederica,  the  watch- 
maker's daughter — and  when  shall  I  become  a 
marquise  ?  " 

44  It  is  true,"    said    Hardenberg,  smiling,  and 
tearing  the  paper  in  small  pieces ;  "  it  is  true,  she 
is  a  diavolezza,  but  one  of  the  most  amiable  and 
charming  sort,  and  perhaps  ere  long  I  shall,  not- 
withstanding her  deviltry,  consider  her  an  angel, 
and  believe  her  charming  comedy  to  be  entirely 
true  and  lincere.     But  this  is  no  time  for  think- 
ing of  such  things.     The  grave  affairs  of  life  re- 
ar exclusive  attention.     Kockeritz,  then, 
':.  and  even  Kalkreuth  has  been 
slia'ien  in  his  .stupid  bt-li-f  in  the  French!     Well, 
;>t  length  succeed  in  taking  the  fortress 
of  this  royal  heart! — Ah,  some  one  raps  again  at 


118 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


the  door !  Come  in !  What,  Conrad,  it  is  you 
again  ?  Do  you  come  to  tell  me  that  my  wife  has 
again  boxed  your  ears  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Conrad,  smiling.  "This  time  I 
have  to  announce  a  French  soldier,  who  insists 
on  seeing  your  excellency.  He  says  he  has  found 
a  precious  ornament  which  you  have  lost,  and  for 
which  he  would  himself  get  his  reward." 

"Well,  let  him  come  in;  we  shall  see  what  he 
brings  me,"  said  Hardenberg. 

A  few  minutes  afterward  Conrad  opened  the 
door,  and  a  French  soldier  entered  the  room. 
"  Now,  let  us  see  what  you  have  found,  my 
friend,"  said  Hardenberg,  "  and  what  you  bring 
back  to  me  before  I  have  missed  it." 

"  Your  excellency,  it  is  a  precious  ornament," 
said  the  soldier;  "but  I  must  give  it  to  you  in 
secret." 

"Withdraw,  Conrad,"  said  Hardenberg,  beck- 
oning to  the  servant,  who  had  remained  at  the 
door,  and  was  distrustfully  and  anxiously  watch- 
ing every  motion  of  the  soldier. 

Conrad  obeyed,  but  he  left  the  door  ajar,  and 
regained  close  to  it,  ready  to  reenter  the  cabinet 
at  the  first  word  of  his  beloved  master. 

"Now  we  are  alone.  Speak!"  said  Harden- 
berg. 

"  Your  excellency,"  whispered  the  soldier,  ad- 
vancing several  steps,  "  the  valet  de  chambre  of 
Count  St.  Marsan — that  is  to  say,  my  brother — 
has  sent  me  to  you.  He  dares  not  himself  come, 
for  the  house  of  your  excellency  is  watched  by 
spies,  and  he  would  instantly  be  suspected,  if  he 
were  seen  entering  it.  I  am  to  ask  your  excel- 
lency whether  you  will  give  me  twenty  louis  d'ors 
for  a  letter  from  my  brother  which  I  am  to  de- 
liver to  you." 

"  This  letter,  then,  contains  highly  important 
information  ?  " 

"Yes,  your  excellency;  my  brother  says  he 
would  let  you  have  it  at  so  low  a  rate  because  he 
bad  so  long  been  connected  with  j  ou,  and  because 
you  had  always  treated  him  in  a  munificent  man- 


"  Does  your  brother  require  me  to  pay  that 
sum  before  I  have  received  the  letter  ?  ' 


"  He  said  he  would  leave  that  entirely  to  yout 
excellency ;  only  he  thinks  it  would  be  more  ad- 
vantageous  to  you  to  pay  the  money  before  read- 
ing the  letter." 

"  How  so,  more  advantageous  to  me  ?  " 

"Because  your  excellency,  after  reading  it, 
would  doubtless,  in  your  joy  at  having  received 
this  singular  and  important  information,  pay  him 
a  larger  sum  than  he  himself  had  asked." 

"  In  that  case  I  prefer  to  read  the  letter  first," 
said  Hardenberg,  smiling,  "  for  I  must  not  allow 
your  brother's  generosity  to  surpass  mine." 

"Well,  then,  your  excellency,  here  is  the  let- 
ter," said  the  soldier,  handing  a  small,  folded  pa- 
per to  the  chancellor  of  state. 

Hardenberg  took  it,  and,  as  if  to  prevent  the 
soldier  from  seeing  the  expression  of  his  face 
while  he  was  reading  it,  he  stepped  into  the  win- 
dow-niche and  turned  his  back  to  him.  The  sol- 
dier, however,  fixed  his  lurking  glances  on  the 
chancellor.  He  saw  that  a  sudden  shock  made 
the  whole  frame  of  the  chancellor  tremble,  and 
a  triumphant  smile  overspread  the  countenance 
of  the  secret  observer. 

After  a  few  minutes  Hardeuberg  turned  round 
again,  and,  carefully  folding  up  the  paper,  con- 
cealed it  in  his  bosom.  "  My  friend,"  he  said, 
"your  brother  was  right.  Twenty  louis  d'ors 
would  be  too  low  a  price  for  this  letter.  We 
must  pay  more  for  it."  He  stepped  to  his  desk, 
and,  opening  one  of  the  drawers,  took  a  roll  from 
it  and  counted  down  a  number  of  gold-pieces  on 
the  table.  "Here  are  thirty  louis  d'ors,"  said 
Hardenberg,  "  and  one  for  your  trouble.  See 
whether  I  have  counted  correctly.  Tell  your 
brother  to  continue  serving  me  faithfully,  and  fur- 
nishing me  with  reliable  reports.  He  may  al- 
ways count  on  my  gratitude  ! " 

Scarcely  had  the  soldier  left  the  room,  when 
Hardenberg  drew  the  paper  from  his  bosom  and 
glanced  over  it  again.  "At  length!"  he  ex- 
claimed, joyously.  "The  decisive  moment  is  at 
hand !  Now  I  hope  to  attain  my  object ! "  He 
rang  the  bell  violently.  "  Have  my  carriage 
brought  to  the  front  door  in  half  an  hour,"  he 
said  to  Conrad,  as  soon  as  he  entered  the  room 


THE   ATTACK 


119 


*  B.it  my  own  horses  are  tired.  Send  for  four 
post-horses.  A  courier  is  immediately  to  set  out 
for  Potsdam,  and  see  to  it  that  relay  horses  be  in 
readiness  for  me  at  Steglitz  and  Zehlendorf !  " 


CHAPTER    XX. 

THE   ATTACK. 

IT  was  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The 
gloomy  January  day  had  already  yielded  to  a 
dark,  cold  nii;ht,  on-hrouding  the  city  and  vicin- 
ity of  Potsdam.  The  king  was,  as  usual,  to  go 
to  S.ms-Souci  toward  nightfall.  There,  far  from 
the  turmoil  of  the  world,  he  liked  to  spend  his 
mornings  and  evenings,  retiring  from  intrusive 
I  into  the  quiet  of  his  simple  domestic  life. 
Like  his  august  grand-uncle,  Frederick  II.,  the 
king  laid  down  his  crown  and  the  splendor  of 
hia  position  at  the  gates  of  the  small  palace  of 
Sans-Souc;,  and,  at  this  country-seat,  consecrated 
by  so  many  historical  recollections,  he  was  not  a 
lung,  but  a  man,  a  father,  ami  a  friend.  At  San^- 
Souci  his  children  gathered  around  him  every 
evening,  and,  by  their  mirth  and  tender  love,  en- 
deavored to  dispel  the  clouds  from  the  careworn 
brow  of  their  father;  at  Sans-Souci,  Frederick 
William  received  the  small  circle  of  his  intimate 
friends — there  old  General  von  Kockeritz,  Field- 
Marshal  Kalkreuth,  Count  Dohna,  Chancellor  von 
Hardenberg,  and  the  few  who  had  remained  faith- 
ful to  him,  were  allowed  to  approach  without  cer- 
emonial or  etiquette.  Foreign  guests  and  court 
•ore,  however,  were  never  received  at  the 
•  •oiintry  pal.u-.- ;  h<>  saw  them  only  in  the  city  of 
Potsdam,  where  lu-  transacted  government  af- 
•'.\\r<.  Thither  the  king  repaired  punctually  at 
•  •VWk  every  morni')'_',  where  took  place  the 
meetings  of  the  eahinet,  the  consultations  with 
the  high  functionaries,  the  audiences  «:5ven  to  the 
foreign  ambassadors,  and  the  official  levees,  and 
there  the  king  took  his  (Tinner  in  the  midst  of  hi.s 

Imily  and  the  officers  of  his  court.     But  as  soon 
u  the  clock  struck  seven  he  entered  his  carriage 


ithout  any  attendants,  and  drove  out  to  Sans- 
Souci.  This  had  been  his  invariable  habit  for 
m.iny  years  ;  and  when  the  inhabitants  of  the 
street  leading  to  his  country-seat  heard  the  roll  of 
a  carriage  at  that  hour,  they  said  as  positively  M 
though  they  heard  the  clock  striking,  "  It  is  just 
seven,  for  the  king  is  driving  to  Sans-Souci." 

The  coachman,  as  was  his  habit,  as  soon  as  the 
clock  struck  six,  would  harness  two  horses  to  the 
plain  carriage  which  the  king  always  used,  and 
generally  drove  up  to  the  small  side-gate  a  few 
minutes  to  seven  o'clock.  Without  giving  any 
orders,  or  uttering  a  word,  the  king  would  enter, 
and  noisily  closing  the  door,  give  thereby  the  signal 
to  start.  The  chime  of  the  neighboring  church 
had  just  commenced  playing  the  first  part  of  the 
old  hymn  of  "  Ucb'  immer  Treu  und  Redlichkeii,"* 
thus  indicating  that  it  was  half-past  six  when  the 
carriage  appeared  at  the  side-gate.  The  wind 
was  howling  across  the  palace  square  and  through 
the  colonnade  in  front  of  the  neighboring  park, 
hurling  the  snow  into  the  face  of  the  driver,  and 
lifting  up  the  cape  of  his  cloak  around  his  head, 
as  if  to  protect  him  from  the  cold  and  stormy 
night.  Thomas,  the  king's  coachman,  had  just  re- 
moved with  some  difficulty  the  large  cape  from 
his  face,  and  rubbed  the  snow  from  his  eyes, 
when  he  heard  the  side-gate  open.  A  dark  figure 
emerged  from  it  and  entered  the  carriage,  and 
noisily  closed  the  door.  Thomas  had  received 
his  accustomed  signal,  and,  although  wondering 
that  the  king  had  come  fifteen  minutes  earlier 
than  usual,  he  took  the  reins,  whipped  the  horses, 
and  the  carriage  rolled  away  along  the  route  to 
Sans-Souci.  The  snow-storm  drowned  the  roll  of 
the  wheels,  and  rendered  the  vehicle  almost  invis- 
ible ;  besides,  there  was  no  one  to  take  particular 
notice  of  it,  for  only  here  and  there  some  closely- 
muffled  person  was  to  be  seen  on  the  street,  too 
busy  with  himself— too  much  engaged  in  holding 
fast  his  fluttering  cloak  and  protecting  himself, 
from  the  driving  snow. 

The  square  in  front  of  the  palace  was  deserted. 

The  two  sentinels    were  walking  up   and  down 

•  tt  Practise  always  truth  and  honesty." 


NAPOLEON    AND   BLUCHER. 


with  slow,  measured  steps  in  front  of  the  main 
portal,  now  looking  up  to  the  brilliantly-lighted 
windows  of  the  royal  sitting-room,  and  now  con- 
templating the  two  dim  lanterns  which  stood  on 
the  iron  railing,  and  whose  light,  struggling  with 
the  storm,  seemed  about  to  be  extinguished.  The 
side-gate  of  the  palace  remained  dark  and  lonely, 
but  only  for  a  short  time.  From  the  side  of  the 
market-place  a  carriage  slowly  approached,  and 
stopped  in  front  of  the  palace,  precisely  on  the 
same  spot  which  the  king's  carriage  had  pre- 
viously occupied.  The  coachman  sat  as  rigidly 
and  stiffly  on  the  box  :is  worthy  Thomas,  and  the 
storm  played  with  his  cloak,  and  threw  the  snow 
into  his  face,  precisely  in  the  same  manner.  A 
patrol  marched  across  the  palace-square,  and  ap- 
proached the  sentinels  in  front  of  the  main  portal ; 
the  usual  words  of  command  were  heard,  the 
guard  was  relieved,  and  the  sentinels  marched 
off,  surrendering  their  places  to  their  less  for- 
tunate comrades.  When  they  passed  the  side  of 
the  palace  where  the  carriage  was  to  be  seen, 
they  said  to  each  other:  "Ah,  we  are  off  guard 
a  fe*  minutes  too  early.  It  cannot  be  quite  seven 
o'clock,  for  the  king's  carriage  is  still  waiting  at 
the  gate."  The  driver's  laugh  was  unheard. 

It  was  really  not  yet  seven — the  hour  when  the 
king  usually  left  the  palace.  He  was  still  in  his 
sitting-room,  and  his  two  old  friends,  General  von 
Kockeritz  and  Field-Marshal  Kalkreulh,  were  with 
him.  A  pause  in  their  conversation  set  in,  which 
seemed  to  have  been  of  a  very  grave  character,  for 
the  faces  of  the  two  old  gentlemen  looked  serious 
and  careworn,  and  the  king  was  pacing  the  room 
slowly  and  with  a  gloomy  air. 

"  Kockeritz,"  he  said,  after  a  pause,  standing 
in  front  of  the  old  general,  who  was  his  most  in- 
timate friend,  and  looking  him  full  in  the  face, 
"  you  are  really  in  earnest,  then  ?  You  believe  in 
the  prophecies  of  the  clairvoyante  ?  " 

"I  confess,  your  majesty,  that  I  cannot  but 
believe  them,"  said  Kockeritz,  sighing.  "  Her 
words,  her  whole  manner,  all  her  gestures,  bear 
the  stamp  of  truthfulness  to  such  an  extent,  that 
I  would  deem  it  a  crime  against  nature  to  be- 
lieve her  to  be  an  impostor ;  she  has,  moreover, 


already  predicted  to  me  the  most  wonderfui 
things,  and  in  her  trance  read  my  thoughts.  She 
has  looked,  as  it  were,  into  the  depth  of  my  soul, 
so  that  I  cannot  doubt  longer  that  she  really  is  ^ 
prophetess." 

"  And  you,  field-marshal — do  you,  too,  believe 
in  her  ?  "  asked  the  king. 

"  I  do,  reluctantly,  and  in  spite  of  myself,  but  I 
cannot  help  it,"  said  the  old  field-marshal,  shrug- 
ging his  shoulders.  *'  This  girl  speaks  so  forci- 
bly, with  such  eloquence  and  such  fervor  of  ex- 
pression, that  one  is  obliged  to  believe  in  her. 
Your  majesty  knows  that  I  have  always  side<l 
with  those  who  have  deemed  the  alliance  of  Prus- 
sia with  France  to  be  indispensable  for  the  welfare 
and  salvation  of  the  country,  and  that  I  entertain 
the  highest  admiration  for  the  genius,  the  charac- 
ter, and  military  talents  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  : 
I  have  never  concealed  my  conviction  that  Prus- 
sia is  lost  if  your  majesty  renounce  Napoleon, 
and  accept  the  proffered  hand  of  Russia.  Still, 
this  girl  has  filled  me  with  misgivings.  She 
cried  in  so  heart-rending  a  tone,  with  so  in- 
pressive  an  anxiety,  '  Save  the  king — the  kin;» 
is  in  danger !  Leave  Berlin — leave  Potsdam  ! 
— save  the  king ! '  that  I  felt  a  shudder  pei  - 
vading  my  limbs,  and  it  seemed  to  me  a* 
though  I  saw  already  the  hand  which  was  raised 
menacingly  against  the  sacred  head  of  your  ma- 
jesty. I  certainly  do  not  believe  that  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon  has  any  thing  to  do  with  this  dan- 
ger; but  some  officious  man  in  authority,  some 
adventurous  general,  might  strike  a  blow  on  his 
own  responsibility,  and  in  the  belief  that  he  would 
gain  the  favor  of  his  emperor,  and  anticipate  his 
most  secret  wishes." 

"  And  what  do  you  believe  ?  "  asked  the  king, 
moodily.  "  Tell  me,  Kockeritz,  what  sort  of  dan- 
ger  do  you  think  is  meancing  me  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,  your  majesty,"  said  Kockeritz, 
almost  timidly,  "  but  I  am  sure  there  is  danger,  and 
I  would  beseech  your  majesty  to  remove  the  seat 
of  government  to  some  place  where  you  would  be 
safer,  and  where  we  would  not  be  exposed  to  the 
attacks  of  prowling,  reckless  detachments  of  sol- 
diers, such  as  we  saw  here  to  our  profound  re 


THE   ATTACK. 


121 


gret  but  a  few  .     Your  majesty  ought 

to  go  to  Breslau !  " 

"  Ah,"  exclaimed  the  king,  vehemently,  "  Ilar- 
denberg  has  succeeded,  then,  in  gaining  you  over 
to  his  views  V  You  are  now  suddenly  of  opinion 
that  I  ought  to  remove  to  Breslau  V  " 

"  Your  majesty,  I  swear  to  ^ou  that  Chancellor 
von  Hardenberg  has  not  even  tried  to  gain  me 
over  to  his  views,  and  that  he  assuredly  would 
not  have  succeeded.  I  have  no  political  motives 
whatever  in  entreating  your  majesty  now  to  go  to 
Breslau,  but  am  actuated  exclusively  by  my  fears 
for  your  personal  safety.  These  troops  of  Gen- 
eral Grenier  have  greatly  alarmed  me  ;  their 
strange  expedition  to  Potsdam  was  calculated  to 
give  rise  to  the  most  serious  misgivings,  and  when 
I  add  to  this  the  prophecies  of  the  clairvoyantc, 
a  profound  concern  for  the  safety  of  your  majesty 
fills  my  heart,  and  1  feel  like  imploring  you  on 
my  kiu-es  to  le.-ive  Potsdam  and  to  go  to  Bres- 
lau ! " 

"  Let  me  join  in  the  request  of  General  Kb'ck- 
eritz,  your  majesty,"  said  Field-Marshal  Kal- 
kreutb,  sighing ;  "  I,  who  on  the  battle-field  never 
knew  fear,  am  afraid  of  a  danger  to  which  I  am 
not  even  able  to  give  a  name." 

"  And,  owing  to  these  vague  presentiments,  I 
am  to  take  a  step  that  might  endanger  the  peace 
of  my  country  and  the  existence  of  my  crown  ! " 
exclaimed  the  kin,:,  with  unusual  vehemence. 
"For,  do  not  deceive  yourself  in  regard  to  this 
point :  if  I  go  to  Breslau,  Napoleon,  who  is  per- 

Ppetually  distru>tin._'  mo,  an<l  who  is  well  aware 
that  my  alliance  with  him  is  highly  repugnant  to 
my  imTm.iti  n-  and  my  personal  wishes,  would 
eem  it  equivalent  to  an  open  rupture,  and  l>e- 
i.id  gone  over  to  his  enemy,  the  Emperor 
i.  I)':t,  what  is  -till  worse,  my  country, 
my  people,  will  al-o  Mi- 

Every  one  will  suppose  that,  although   I   publicly 
branded  ^  :ion  as  a  mine,  ami  removed 

I   him   from    the   command-in-chicf,  I   secretly  con- 
i   at  what   he   did,  ami   that    my   joun. 
Breslau  is  but  a  continuation  of  York's  plans. 
Every  one  will  believe  that  our  policy  has  under- 
gone a  changet  and  that  the  alliance  with  France 


is  at  an  end.  It  was  an  eyesore  to  the  people ; 
and  if  they  now  believe  themselves  to  be  deliv- 
ered from  it,  the  most  calamitous  consequences 
might  ensue.  A  rising  against  the  French  will 
t.ike  place  as  soon  as  I  merely  seem  to  give  the 
signal  for  it." 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  exclaimed  Ealkreuth 
"  your  majesty  is  right ;  it  might,  after  all,  be 
dangerous  if  you  suddenly  leave  the  city  where 
you  have  so  long  resided.  It  might  be  deemed 
equivalent  to  a  rupture  with  France,  and  we  are, 
unfortunately,  too  weak  to  run  so  great  a  risk. 
France  is  the  natural  ally  of  Prussia ;  that  is 
what  the  great  Frederick  said,  and  Napoleon  is 
also  of  this  opinion.  By  changing  your  system  of 
policy,  your  majesty  would  only  endanger  your 
position,  and  give  the  Emperor  Napoleon  grounds 
for  treating  you  as  an  enemy.  To  be  sure,  I  know 
that  there  are  fools  who  regard  France  as  pros- 
trated, and  utterly  unable  to  rise  again,  but  you 
will  soon  see  her  with  an  army  of  three  hundred 
thousand  men,  as  brilliant  as  the  former." 

"I  am  entirely  of  your  opinion,"  said  the  king, 
thoughtfully,  "  the  resources  of  France  seem  inex- 
haustible, and — " 

At  this  moment  the  door  of  the  cabinet  was 
softly  opened,  and  Tirana  the  chamberlain  made 
his  appearance.  "  His  excellency,  Chancellor  von 
Hardenberg,"  he  said,  in  a  loud  voice,  and  at  the 
same  moment  Hardenberg  appeared  on  the  thresh- 
old of  the  royal  room. 

"  Pardon  me,  your  majesty,"  he  said,  quickly 
approaching,  "  for  availing  myself  of  the  permis- 
sion you  have  given  me  of  entering  your  cabinet 
without  being  ceremoniously  announced;  but 
pressing  affairs  will  excuse  me." 

"  Has  any  thing  occurred  at  Berlin  ?  "  asked  the 
kiii'_',  hastily. 

your  majesty ;  Berlin  is,  at  least  for  the 

it,  perfectly  quiet,"  said  Hardenberg,  laying 

I  on  every  word.     "  But  scenes  of  the  most 

intense   excitement    and    an    open    insurrection 

.niizht  have  occurred  at  Berlin  and  at  Potsdam 

if  I  had  not  fortunately  arrived  here  in  time." 

''  Wh.it  do  you  mean  ?"  inquired  the  king. 

"  I  mean,"  replied  Hardenberg,  slowly  and  sol- 


122 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


emnly,  "  I  mean  that  your  majesty  is  at  this  very 
moment  in  danger  of  being  seized  and  abducted 
by  the  French." 

The  king  gave  a  start,  and  his  face  colored  for 
a  moment ;  Kockeritz  and  Kalkreuth  exchanged 
glances  of  terror  and  dismay. 

"  You  have  also  seen  the  clairvoyante,  then  ?  " 
asked  the  king,  after  a  pause,  almost  indignantly. 
"  You  too  have  allowed  yourself  to  be  frightened 
by  her  vaticinations  ?  " 

"  No,  your  majesty,  I  do  not  believe  in  them, 
but  only  in  what  is  true  and  real.  Will  your 
majesty  condescend  to  listen  to  me  for  a  mo- 
ment?" 

"  Speak,  M.  Chancellor  of  State." 

"  I  must  confess  that,  imitating  the  example 
set  us  by  the  French,  I  have  my  spies  and  agents 
at  the  legation  of  Count  St.  Marsan,  and  at  the 
residence  of  Marshal  Augereau,  governor-general 
of  the  province  of  Brandenburg,  just  as  well  as 
they  have  theirs  at  the  palace  of  your  majesty, 
at  my  house,  and  everywhere  else.  I  pay  my 
spies  liberally,  and  hence  they  serve  me  faithfully. 
Well,  three  hours  since  I  received  a  message  from 
my  first  and  most  reliable  spy,  and  this  message 
seemed  to  me  so  important  that  I  immediately 
hastened  hither  in  order  to  take  the  necessary 
steps,  and,  if  possible,  ward  off  the  blow  aimed  at 
your  majesty." 

"  And  what  blow — what  danger  is  it  ?  " 

"  I  have  told  your  majesty  already  that  you  are 
in  danger  of  being  carried  off  by  the  French. 
Will  your  majesty  permit  me  to  read  to  you  what 
my  spy  (who,  as  I  stated  already,  is  a  very  reli- 
able man)  writes  me  about  it  ?  " 

"  Read ! "  exclaimed  the  king. 

Hardenberg  bowed,  and,  taking  a  paper  from 
his  memorandum-book,  read  as  follows :  "  '  They 
intend  to  seize  the  king  to-night.  A  courier  has 
been  dispatched  to  the  troops  of  Gr6nier's  di- 
vision, which,  since  yesterday,  is  encamped  at  a 
short  distance  from  Potsdam ;  he  conveys  to  the 
troops  the  order  to  march  to  the  outskirts  of  the 
city,  and  to  wait  there  at  a  carefully  designated 
point  for  the  arrival  of  a  carriage.  They  are  then 
to  surround  this  carriage,  and  take  it  at  a  full 


gallop  along  the  road  leading  to  Biandenburg. 
The  king  will  be  in  this  carriage — seized  in  a  very 
simple  manner.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  the 
king  drives  at  seven  o'clock  every  evening  to 
Sans-Souci,  and  the  most  minute  details  of  what 
occurs  on  this  occasion  have  been  reported.  A 
man  will,  thereforef  conceal  himself  shortly  after 
nightfall  near  the  door  by  which  the  king  leaves 
the  palace.  He  will  approach  the  carriage  a  few 
minutes  before  seven,  enter  it,  and  noisily  close 
the  door  as  the  king  is  in  the  habit  of  doing. 
The  coachman  will  believe  this  to  be  the  usual 
signal,  and  start.  As  soon  as  he  has  reached  the 
deserted  avenue  outside  the  gate  leading  to  Sans- 
Souci,  the  man  sitting  in  the  carriage  will  open 
the  front  window,  throw  a  cape  over  the  coach 
man's  head,  thus  blindfolding  and  preventing  him 
from  uttering  any  cries.  At  the  same  time  two 
agents,  concealed  bJiind  the  trees,  will  approach, 
stop  the  horses,  seize  the  coachman,  draw  him 
from  the  box,  tie  his  hands  und  feet,  and  then 
put  him  into  the  carriage.  The  hoiscs  are  to  be 
half  unhitched  so  that  neither  they  net  ffco  coach- 
man will  be  able  to  stir  from  the  spot.  In  ib« 
mean  time  another  carriage  will  occupy  the  plica 
of  the  former,  and  wait  for  the  king  at  the  side- 
gate  of  the  palace.  As  soon  as  his  majesty  has 
entered,  it  will  start,  take  at  first  the  route  of 
Sans-Souci,  but  outside  of  the  gate  will  imme- 
diately turn  to  the  left,  and  drive  for  some  time 
at  a  quick  trot  along  the  narrow  road  near  the 
garden.  At  some  distance  from  the  city  the 
chasseurs  of  Grenier's  division  will  await  it,  and 
then  form  its  escort.  The  carriage  is  arranged  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  cannot  be  opened  on  the 
inside.  As  soon  as  the  king  has  entered  it,  he 
will,  therefore,  be  a  prisoner.'  " 

"And  you  believe  in  the  reliability  of  these 
statements  ?  "  asked  the  king,  when  Hardenberg 
paused. 

u  I  am  satisfied  of  it,  your  ma/'esty.  The  re- 
ports of  my  spy  have  hitherto  alwa/t,  proved  cor- 
rect  and  reliable.  It  would  be  impossible  for  me 
to  doubt  his  accuracy." 

The  king  looked  at  his  watch.  "  It  is  already 
a  quarter  past  seven,"  he  said.  "Tlun  it  is  no* 


THE   ATTACK. 


123 


my  carriage  that  ia  waiting  for  uae  at  the  palace- 
gate,  but  another?" 
"  Yes,  your  majesty." 

"The  clairvoyaute  was  right,"  muttered  Gen- 
em]  KOckeritz. 

"  If  I  now  enter  the  carriage,  you  believe,  M. 
Chancellor,  I  would  be  carried  off?  " 

u  That  is  what  my  spy  reports,  and  I  have  ad- 
ditional evidence  confirming  his  statements.  At 
least  it  is  entirely  correct  that  Grenier's  chasseurs 
are  again  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Potsdam. 
I  ronfess  to  your  majesty  thot,  owing  to  this  dan- 
ger, I  have  already  taken  the  liberty,  without  ob- 
taining your  consent,  to  take  most  urgent  steps, 
&nd  that  I  have  conferred  with  the  commanders 
of  the  garrison  of  Potsdam  for  this  purpose. 
These  gentlemen,  like  myself,  felt  the  necessity 
of  immediate  action.  Couriers  and  spies  were 
pent  out  by  them  in  all  directions,  and  have 
brought  the  news  that  the  four  thousand  men 
who,  two  days  ago,  made  an  attempt  to  occupy 
Potsdam  ford  My,  are  now  again  approaching  the 
city  in  the  VTCI:?':  haste.  Already  about  fifty 
chasseurs  ar*.  -taticued  behind  the  high  fence  of 
the  last  garden  on  the  road,  alluded  to  in  the 
of  my  spy,  and  seem  to  wait  there  for  the 
Your  majesty  will  see  all  my  state- 
ments confirmed  if  you  will  be  gracious  enough 
to  receive  the  report  of  the  officer  who  com- 
ded  tl  e  expedition,  and  who  has  now  accom- 
ied  ra  :  to  the  palaeo.  The  commanders  of 
the  garrison  found  t'le  proofs  of  the  insidious  in- 
tentions of  tlie  French  to  be  so  startling  that  they 
ore  causing  at  this  moment  all  their  troops  to 
form  in  line,  and  are  marching  them  as  n<>' 

to  the  neighboring  park." 
"  Without  having  previously  applied  to  me  for 
ere?"  u-ke  1  the  kin£,  quickly. 
'Your   majesty,    tin-    pro-Mil^   ilanu'-T   excuses 
-hness.     I  have  engaged  to  solicit   your 
<ure." 

J"  The  troops -lull   bo   sent  to  their  qn.i- 
id  the   kin.-,  llj,  after  a  D 

flection. 

"Great    11  .--neral    Koek- 

eritz,  anxiously,  "  what  doe-»  your  majesty  intend 


r; 


to  do  ?  Will  you  expose  yourself  to  the  danger 
of—" 

"Hush!"  interrupted  the  king,  sternly,  seizing 
the  bell  and  ringing.  The  chamberlain  entered. 
"  The  officer  who  is  waiting  in  the  anteroom  is  to 
come  in,"  ordered  the  king.  A  minute  afterward 
the  officer  appeared,  and  remained  in  a  military 
attitude  at  the  door. 

"  Did  you  reconnoitre  to-night  ?  "  inquired  the 
king. 

"  I  did,  your  majesty.  A  part  of  Grenier's  di- 
vision is  rapidly  approaching  the  city ;  fifty  chas- 
seurs are  already  on  the  garden  road  behind  the 
last  board  fence." 

"  Return  to  the  general  commanding,"  ordered 
the  king.  "  The  troops  are  at  once  to  leave  the 
park  and  go  back  to  their  quarters.  The  whole 
affair  is  to  be  kept  a  secret,  and  all  eclat  to  be 
avoided.  Go ! " 

The  officer  saluted,  and  turned  toward  the  door, 
but  on  opening  it  he  looked  back  and  cast  an 
inquiring  glance  on  the  face  of  the  chancellor. 
Hardenberg  nodded  almost  imperceptibly.  The 
officer  went  out  and  closed  the  door  after  him.* 

"  I  do  not  wish  this  affair  to  be  made  public," 
said  the  king,  "  otherwise  I  should  have  to  re- 
nounce France  immediately  and  decidedly;  but 
my  circumstances  forbid  me  to  do  so." 

"But,  your  majesty,  you  are  now  exposing 
yourself  to  the  danger  of  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  French,"  exclaimed  General  Kockeritz, 
anxiously.  "  If  Grenier's  troops  enter  Potsdam 
now,  they  would  meet  with  no  resistance  what- 
ever, as  your  majesty  has  withdrawn  our  own 
soldiers." 

"The  French  troops  will  not  enter  Potsdam 
after  seeing  that  their  plan  has  failed,  and  that 
I  do  not  arrive  in  the  coach  at  the  place  where 
the  chasseurs  are  waiting  for  me,"  said  the 


*  When  the  klnp  heard  that  the  troops  had  been 
marched  to  tho  park,  he  ordered  them  to  be  dismissed  to 
their  quarters;  but  the  apprehensions  of  the  officers 
were  so  great  that  they  dared  to  obey  tho  royal  orders 
only  partially.  They  marched  the  troops  from  the  park 
to  another  place,  where  they  kept  them  under  wins  dm> 
ing  the  whole  night  and  a  part  cf  ;  g  (lay. 


124 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


"Besides,"  exclaimed  Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth 
indignantly,  "  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the 
whob  intrigue  is  not  a  mei«  fiction.  The  chan- 
cellor of  state  himself  said  that  he  paid  his  spies 
well.  Perhaps  some  enterprising  fellow  has  got 
up  this  story  for  the  sole  purpose  of  receiving  A 
large  reward.  He  could  imagine  that  the  kir.g, 
after  being  warned,  would  not  drive  out  to  Sans- 
Souci  to-night,  and  that  the  affair  therefore  would 
be  buried  in  the  darkness  of  this  evening." 

"And  does  your  excellency  believe,  too,  that 
my  spy  caused  four  thousand  men  to  march  upon 
Potsdam  to  second  his  intrigue  ?  "  asked  Harden- 
berg,  smiling.  "  Do  you  believe  that  he  is  able 
to  send  detachments  of  chasseurs  whithersoever 
he  pleases?" 

"  I  cannot  believe  in  this  plan ;  it  would  be 
too  audacious ! "  exclaimed  Field-Marshal  Kal- 
kreuth. "  I  ask  a  favor  of  your  majesty.  If  this 
report  is  correct,  the  carriage  in  which  you  are  to 
be  abducted  ought  now  to  be  at  the  palace-gate 
and  await  your  majesty.  Please  permit  me  to  go 
down-stairs  and  enter  it  in  your  place.  I  want 
to  see  whither  they  will  take  me." 

"No,"  said  the  king — "no!  I  wish  to  avoid 
any  thing  like  an  open  rupture  with  France.  The 
time  for  that  has  not  come  yet." 

"  Oh,"  whispered  Hardenberg  to  himself,  sadly 
and  reproachfully,  "  that  time  will  never  come ! 
My  hopes  are  blasted." 

The  king  paced  the  room  silently  and  musingly, 
with  his  hands  folded  behind  him.  Field-Marshal 
Kalkreuth  and  General  Kockeritz  followed  every 
motion  in  anxious  suspense.  Hardenberg  cast 
down  his  eyes,  and  his  features  were  expressive 
of  profound  grief. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  king,  "come  with  me! 
Let  us  go  down  to  my  carriage  ! " 

"  Your  majesty,  I  trust,  does  not  intend  to 
enter  it  ?  "  exclaimed  Kockeritz,  in  dismay. 

"  Come  with  me  ! "  said  the  king,  almost  smil- 
ingly. "  Come ! " 

The  firm,  determined  tone  of  his  majesty  ad- 
mitted of  no  resistance.  The  three  left  the  cab- 
inet with  him  in  silence,  crossed  the  anteroom 
and  the  lighted  corridor,  until  they  arrived  at  the 


small  staircase  leading  to  the  side-gate  of  the 
palace.  All  was  silent.  Not  a  footman  met 
them  on  the  way,  and  only  a  single  sentinel  stood 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  passage.  The  king,  who 
led  the  way,  went  quickly  down  and  across  the 
small  hall  toward  the  door,  which  he  opened  with 
a  jerk.  The  storm  swept  into  the  hall  and  beat 
into  the  faces  of  the  gentlemen.  It  had  already 
blown  out  the  two  lanterns  in  front  of  the  door, 
and  an  impenetrable  darkness  reigned  outside. 

"  Hush,  now  !  "  whispered  the  king.  "  Step 
out  softly  and  place  yourselves  here  at  the  wall. 
No  one  will  see  you.  Wait  now  !  "  He  quickly 
stepped  to  the  carriage,  scarcely  visible  in  the 
darkness,  and,  groping  for  the  knob  of  the  coach 
door,  opened  it.  A  moment  of  breathless  sus- 
pense ensued  for  those  who  stood  at  the  wall, 
and  tried  to  see  what  was  to  occur.  The  king 
slammed  the  door,  and  jumped  back  toward 
the  gate.  At  the  same  moment  the  coachman 
whipped  the  horses  and  the  carriage  rapidly  sped 
away. 

"Now,  let  us  reenter  the  palace,"  said  ths 
king,  with  perfect  composure.  "  It  is  a  storm  / 
night !  Come  ! "  He  stepped  back  into  the  hall, 
and  the  gentlemen  followed.  "  Well,"  he  saic , 
smiling,  and  standing  still,  "  the  coachman,  i  i 
the  firm  belief  that  I  am  in  the  carriage,  will  take 
the  indicated  route ;  the  chasseurs  will  surround 
the  carriage  and  capture  it.  Let  those  who  got 
up  this  miserable  intrigue  convince  themselves  to 
their  shame  that  it  has  miscarried.  They  wi'.l 
not  dare  complain,  and  the  whole  affair  will 
never  be  revealed." 

"But  suppose  it  should  really  have  been  your 
majesty's  carriage  ?  "  asked  Kalkreuth.  "  The 
darkness  was  so  great  that  it  could  not  be  recog- 
nized." 

"  But  the  darkness  did  not  prevent  me  from 
feeling,"  said  the  king,  "  and  my  hands  served  ine 
this  time  instead  of  my  eyes.  I  felt  that  it  was 
another  carriage  than  mine.  The  door-knob 
was  much  larger.  But  now  I  should  like  to 
have  some  news  about  my  dear  o/d  coachman, 
Thomas,  and  learn  what  has  become  of  him." 

"  If  /our  majesty  will  permit  me,  I  will  try  to 


THE   COURIER'S   RETURN. 


125 


;.iin  if  the  carriage  is  still  in  the  avenue  out- 
M'lc  the  gate,"  said  Kalkreuth,  quickly. 

"  I  inteii'.led  to  request  you  to  do  so,  ^eld-mar- 
'  said  the  king.     "Your  coach  is  in  readi- 
il  it  n.. t  :-  " 
"It  is,  your  rnaj 

"  Let  the  servants,  then,  have  it  bt ought  up," 

saiu  the  king,  ascending  the  staircase.     On  arriv- 

t  the  anteroom,  he  himself  ordered  the  lackey 

in  waiting  to  have  the  carriage  of  the  field-marshal 

brought  to  the  door. 

"  If  your  majesty  will  permit  me,"  said  Gen- 
eral Kockeritz,  "  I  will  accompany  the  field-mar- 
shal;' 

"  I  ask  for  the  same  favor,"  said  the  chancellor 
of  state,  quickly. 

impany  the  field-marshal,  general,"  saul 
the  king,  turning  to  Kockeritz.  "  Take  no  ser- 
vants with  you,  except  Timm  my  cl-amberlain, 
who  may  r  -tance  to  my  poor  Thomas. 

My  chamberlain  is  reticent  and  faithful.  Pray 
your  carriage  stopped  at  the  entrance  of  the 
avenue,  and  proceed  then  on  foot.  If  you  find 
every  thing  as  stated  in  the  spy's  report,  Timm 
will  drive  the  carriage  to  Sans-Souci,  that  my 
good  old  coachman  may  go  to  bed  and  recover 
from  his  flight.  You  will  tell  him,  however,  that 
I  wish  him  not  to  breathe  a  word  about  his  ad- 
venture. You,  gentlemen,  will  thereupon  return 
and  report  to  me.  And  you,  M.  Ch-mceilor,  will 
)w  me  into  my  cabinet." 


QHAPTEB    XXI. 

THK      CO  U  HI  Kit's      KKTTRN. 

.'•'met,  tliL*  king  .>luwl-, 

room,  the  presence 

:,    wlrj   waited  in 
t  patiemv,    withdrew    softly    into   a    whsdow- 

.   to  the  noise  of  the  . 

rolling   a\v.iy  at  this   moment.      "  The   spies   the 
out  are  driving  to  the  avenue,"  said 
Uardeuberg  to  himself.     "  They  will,  no  doubt, 


find  every  thing  as  stated  In  the  report,  and  yet 
all  will  be  in  vain.  He  will  not  make  up  hia 
mind  to  enter  a  bold  course,  and  while  he  is  hesi- 
tatini;  all  of  us  and  Prussia  will  perish." 

While  he  was  thus  absorbed  in  his  sombre  re- 
flections, and  sadly  gazing  out  into  the  dark 
night,  he  had  not  noticed  that  the  king  stood  still 
at  the  other  end  of  the  room,  and,  with  his  arms 
folded  on  his  breast,  was  casting  searching  glances 
on  the  chancellor  of  state.  Now  he  crossed  the 
room  with  slow  steps  and  erect  head,  and  stood 
in  front  of  Hardenberg.  "  M.  Chancellor,"  said 
Frederick  William,  in  an  unusually  mild  and  gen- 
tle tone,  "  you  are  sad  and  discontented,  are  you 
not  ?  You  are  almost  despairing,  and  it  seems  to 
you  that  the  King  of  Prussia,  whom  the  French 
have  again  so  deeply  insulted  and  humiliated,  and 
whom  Napoleon  is  now  threatening  even  with 
seizure,  should  at  length  revolt  against  such  treat- 
ment, and  submit  no  longer  to  it.  It  seems  to 
you  that,  cut  to  the  quick  by  so  many  slights,  in- 
sults, and  perfidies,  he  ought  to  put  an  end  to  hia 
temporizing  policy ;  to  rise  and  exclaim,  '  I  will 
die  rather  than  bear  this  disgrace  any  longer !  I 
will  die  rather  than  endure  these  humiliations.' 
You  are  right ;  were  I,  like  you,  so  fortunate  aa 
to  be  nothing  but  a  man  who  had  to  defend 
only  his  own  honor  and  existence,  I  would  be  al- 
lowed to  risk  every  thing  in  order  to  win  every 
thing.  But  I  am  the  king,  and,  moreover,  the 
king  of  an  unfortunate  state.  I  must  forget  my 
own  wrongs,  and  remember  only  that  I  have 
sacred  duties  to  fulfil  toward  my  people,  and  that, 
so  far  as  my  own  person  is  concerned,  I  am  not 
yet  allowed  to  possess  any  other  courage  than 
that  of  resignation.  I  am  not  allowed  to  stake 
the  existence  of  my  monarchy  and  the  welfare  of 
my  people  to  obtain  per-onal  satisfaction.  Until 
I  obtain  the  incontestable  certainty  that  such  a 
course  would  be  brought  to  a  successful  issue,  1 
not  throw  down  the  gauntlet  to  France,  foi 
failure  in  this  case  would  be  not  only  my  ruin, 
but  that  of  my  whole  people.  I  shall  wait,  there- 
fore, M.  Chancellor,  for  an  opportunity  ;  but  I 
believe  that  this  course  requires  on  my  part  more 
constancy  and  courage  than  if  I,  as  you  wish  me 


126 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


to  do,  should  now  unreservedly  forsake  France 
and  render  the  decision  of  my  fate  dependent  on 
the  fortune  of  war.  It  is  my  solemn  conviction 
that  I  ought  not  to  do  thrs,  but  advance  only 
step  by  step,  and  with  the  utmost  caution  and 
deliberation,  for—  Well,  what  is  it  ?  "  asked  the 
king,  turning  to  the  chamberlain,  who  opened  the 
door  and  entered  the  cabinet. 

"  Pardon  me,  you  majesty,  for  disturbing  you," 
said  the  chamberlain,  respectfully.  "But  the 
gentleman  who  has  just  entered  the  anteroom 
assured  me  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  important 
news,  which  admitted  of  no  delay." 

"  And  who  is  the  gentleman  ?  " 

"  Sire,  it  is  Major  Natzmcr,  whom  your  ma- 
jesty sent  recently  as  a  courier  to  Old  Prussia." 

"Natzmer?"  exclaimed  the  king,  joyously, 
"  admit  him  at  once ! — Ah,  M.  Chancellor,  we 
shall  hear  now  how  affairs  are  looking  in  my 
province  of  Prussia,  and  how  my  troops  have 
received  York's  removal  from  his  command." 

"  I  hope  Major  Natzmer  will  bring  your  ma- 
jesty good  and  joyful  news,"  said  Hardenberg, 
with  perfect  outward  calmness,  while  his  heart 
was  throbbing  with  impatience  for  Major  Natz- 
mer, who  now  entered  ;  and,  while  he  saluted  the 
king,  Hardenberg  fixed  his  eyes,  with  an  anxious 
expression,  on  the  countenance  of  the  new-comer. 
For  a  moment  their  eyes  met.  There  was  an  in- 
quiry in  those  of  Hardenberg;  Natzmer  replied 
by  a  slight  motion  of  his  eyelids,  and  an  almost 
imperceptible  smile. 

"In  the  first  place,  report  to  me  briefly  ind 
succinctly,"  said  the  king.  "  Reply  to  all  my 
questions  as  pointedly  and  clearly  as  possible.  Af- 
terward we  will  expatiate  on  the  most  important 
points.  Well,  then,  you  saw  Murat  and  Mac- 
donald?" 

"  I  did,  your  majesty.  I  met  the  King  of  Naples 
at  Elbing,  and  had  the  honor  of  delivering  your 
majesty's  letter  to  him.  He  received  me  very 
kindly,  and  was  delighted  at  being  thus  assured 
of  your  friendly  feelings  toward  France.  Marshal 
MacdonaH,  to  whose  headquarters  I  then  repaired, 
was  less  kind  and  polite.  He  was  still  exceed- 
ingly indignant  at  the  course  of  General  York, 


which  he  openly  stigmatized  as  traitorous ;  btit 
he  was  pacified  when  I  informed  him  that  I  was 
the  bearer  of  an  order  depriving  York  of  his  com- 
mand, and  was  about  to  convey  it  to  the  camp  of 
the  Russians  and  Prussians." 

"  He  raised  no  obstacles,  then,  but  allowed  you 
to  pass  over  without  hindernnce  to  the  Russian 
camp  ?  " 

"Yes,  your  majesty.  While  Macdonald  con- 
tinued his  march,  I  rode  to  the  Russian  pickets, 
and  was  conducted  by  an  officer,  detailed  by  Gen- 
eral Choplitz  for  this  purpose,  to  the  commander- 
in-chief,  Prince  Wittgenstein,  who  had  established 
his  headquarters  at  Heilsberg." 

"What  business  had  you  at  Wittgenstein's 
headquarters  ?  " 

"I  wanted,  in  accordance  with  your  orders,  to 
ask  his  permission  to  pass  through  to  General 
York  ;  and,  besides,  I  wished  to  ascertain  where 
the  Emperor  Alexander  had  established  his  head- 
quarters, that  I  might  repair  to  them." 

"  Prince  Wittgenstein,  of  course,  gave  you  im- 
mediate permission  to  pass  through  his  camp,  did 
he  not?" 

"  No,  your  majesty  ;  he  refused  my  request." 

"  How  so  ?  What  reasons  could  he  adduce  J 
Did  you  tell  him  what  you  intended  to  do  at 
York's  headquarters  ?  " 

"  Your  majesty  ordered  me  to  tell  every 
what  I  was  to  do  at  General  York's  headquarters, 
and  what  punishment  you  intended  to  inflict  upon 
him.  I  was  therefore  authorized  and  obliged  to 
inform  General  Wittgenstein  of  the  object  of  my 
mission." 

"  And  he  dared  to  resist  you  ?  " 

"  He  did,  your  majesty.  He  declared  that  he 
would  not  permit  me  by  any  means  to  go  to 
York,  and  that  so  long  as  he  lived  no  one  should 
bring  to  the  general  a  dispatch  by  which  the  most 
generous,  magnanimous,  and  valiant  general  of 
the  Prussian  army  was  to  be  deprived  of  his  com- 
mand." 

"  Then  he  really  prevented  you  from  going  to 
York  ?  " 

"Yes,  your  majesty;  he  told  me  I  was  his 
prisoner,  and  did  not  permit  me  to  leave  him," 


THE   COURIER'S   RETURN. 


127 


"So  that,  at  this  moment,  General  York  has 
not,  as  I  desire,  transferred  his  command  to  Gen- 
eral Kleist  ?  " 

"Precisely,  your  majesty.  General  York  is  still 
in  command." 

"  And  he  did  not  receive  the  order  removing 
him  from  his  position  ?  " 

"  I  was  unable  to  deliver  it,  and  your  majesty 
required  me  to  give  it  to  none  but  the  general 
himself.  I  was,  however,  a  prisoner  at  General 
Wittgenstein's.  He  asked  me  whether  I  had  re- 
ceived other  commissions  -,  and  when  he  heard 
that  I  was  to  deliver  a  letter  to  his  majesty  the 
emperor,  he  immediately  had  a  sleigh  brought  to 
the  door,  detailed  an  officer  to  escort  me,  and  we 
set  out  for  the  imperial  headquarters." 

"  Let  us  speak  of  that  hereafter,"  said  the  king, 
quickly.     "  Tell  me  first  whether  you  have  heard 
further  news  about  my  corps.     General   York, 
th'-n,  is  still  in  command  ?  " 
--,  your  majesty." 

"  But  even  though  he  has  not  received  the  dis- 
patches, he  must  have  seen  the  news  in  the  news- 
papers. For  the  Berlin  journals  contained  a  copy 
of  the  order  superseding  him,  and  he  must  have 
noticed  it." 

"I  was  told  by  General  Wittgenstein,  on  return- 
trom  the  headquarters  of  the  Emperor  of 
a,  that   York   had   been  informed   by  the 
newspapers  of  the  severe  punishment  which  your 
fy  intended   to  inflict  upon  him,   and   that 
you  disavowed  him  and  the  course  he  had  taken. 
Accordingly,  he  requested  General  Kleist  to  take 
command  of  the  troops.     But  Kleist  refused  to 
do  so,  allf/uiLi   that  he   had  received  no  direct 
fiom  your  majesty,  and  that  the  dispatches 
of  your  majesty,  addressed  to   him    personally, 
would   determine  his  course,  and  induce  him  to 
iand  of  the  trooj 

.v.i-  right  in  making  this  dec- 
laration," said  the  king.  "So  long  as  York  hud 
not  received  the  dispatches,  he  remained  eom- 
mander-in-diief.'' 

"lie  '.s  still  at  the  head  of  th. 
claimed  Natzmer,  "  for  I  bring  back  the  dispatches 
addressed    to  Generals  York  and   Kleist.     As  I 


addressed  ' 


was  unable  to  deliver  them,  I  return  them  to  your 
majesty." 

The  king  took  the  papers 'which  the  major  pre- 
sented to  him,  contemplating  them  for  a  moment. 
He  turned  toward  Hardenberg,  and  saw  that 
heart-felt  joy  was  beaming  from  his  face.  "Are 
you  glad  that  my  orders  have  not  been  earned 
into  effect,  M.  Chancellor  of  State?"  asked  the 
king. 

"Yes,  your  majesty,"  said  Hardenberg,  in  a 
voice  tremulous  with  emotion,  "  I  am  glad  of  it, 
for  now  it  seems  to  me  as  if  our  night  is  drawing 
to  a  close,  and  a  new  morning  is  about  to  dawn 
upon  Prussia.  York  took  the  first  step  for  this 
purpose,  and  it  will  be  necessary  for  your  ma- 
jesty to  pursue  the  same  course.  For,  as  York 
has  not  been  deprived  of  his  command,  the  French 
will  no  longer  believe  that  you  disavow  the  action 
of  your  brave  general,  and  your  people  and  all 
Germany  will  take  heart,  for  they  will  see  that 
the  era  of  disgrace  is  past,  and  that  a  German 
king  dares  at  length  to  resist  the  French  tyrant." 

"  Well,  we  shall  see,"  said  the  king.  "  Now, 
Major  Natzmer,  tell  me  about  your  mission  to  his 
majesty  the  Emperor  Alexander.  I  told  you  that 
it  was  a  state  secret  Did  you  keep  it  ?  " 

"  I  did,  your  majesty." 

"  Well,  tell  me  the  result." 

"  Will  your  majesty  permit  me  to  withdraw  y  " 
said  the  chancellor,  approaching  the  door.  "  As 
you  intrusted  Major  Natzmer  with  a  secret  mis- 
sion— " 

"  Oh,  no,  your  excellency,  pray  remain ;  I  wish 
you  to  hear  the  message  I  sent  to  the  emperor,  and 
what  he  replied  to  it. — Answer  my  questions  now, 
major.  Did  you  carry  out  the  commission  I  gave 
you  ?  Dili  you  verbally  lay  before  the  emperor 
the  message  which  I  dared  not  confide  to  pea  and 
paper*  Did  you  tell  the  emperor  that  I  would 
offer  him  a  defensive  and  offensive  alliance  if 
Alexander  would  engage  to  carry  on  the  wai 
against  Napoleon  to  the  best  of  his  power,  and 
the  Vistula  and  the  Oder  without  delay? 
Did  you  make  this  offer  to  Alexander  in  my 
name? " 

"  I  did,  your  majesty." 


728 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


The  king  glanced  quickly  at  Hardenberg,  and 
the  surprised  face  of  his  chancellor  of  state  made 
him  smile. 

"  And  what  did  the  emperor  reply  ? "  asked 
Frederick  William,  turning  again  to  the  major. 

"  The  emperor  was  overjoyed  at  the  offer,  and 
declared  his   readiness   to  grant  all  which    you 
would  stipulate  now  and  hereafter.    The  Emperor 
Alexander  imposed  only  a  single  condition." 
"  What  was  it  ?  " 

"  He  demanded  that  the  fortress  of  Graudenz 
should  be  garrisoned  by  Russian  troops,  and  in- 
sisted most  obstinately  on  this  point." 

"  Did  you  not  tell  him  that  I  had  made  up  my 
mind  in  regard  to  this  point,  and  would  renounce 
the  proposed  alliance  if  Graudenz,  the  most  re- 
mote fortress  of  my  kingdom,  should  be  garri- 
soned by  other  than  Prussian  troops  ?  " 
"  I  stated  this  to  the  emperor." 
"  And  then  ?  " 

"  The  emperor  resolved  to  yield  even  this 
point,  and  to  leave  Graudenz  to  the  Prussian 
troops." 

A  sunbeam  seemed  to  light  up  the  grave,  calm 
face  of  the  king,  and  the  cloud  that  generally 
darkened  his  brow  disappeared.  "M.  Chancel- 
lor," he  said,  turning  to  Hardenberg  with  a  mild 
and  kind  smile,  "are  you  now  reconciled  with 
your  Fabius  Cunctator »  Will  you  forgive  me 
for  having  hesitated  until  Natzmer  would  bring 
me  Alexander's  reply  ?  " 

"  Oh,  sire,"  exclaimed  Hardenberg,  "  my  soul 
bows  in  joyous  admiration,  and  your  greatness 
and  mildness  make  me  blush." 

At  this  moment  the  door  opened,  and  Kock- 
eritz  and  Kalkreuth  entered  the  cabinet. 

"  Ah,"  exclaimed  the  king,  meeting  them,  "  my 
two  generals  whom  I  sent  out  on  a  reconuoissance ! 
Well,  gentlemen,  speak !  Did  you  find  my  car- 
riage?" 

"We  did,  your  majesty,"  said  Field-Marshal 
Kalkreuth,  sighing.  "  The  report  was  but  too 
true.  A  vile  plot  had  been  formed  ;  we  have  the 
proofs,  for  we  really  found  the  carriage  of  your 
majesty  in  the  avenue  leading  to  Sans-Souci ;  the 
horses  had  been  partially  unhitched — " 


"  And  my  poor  coachman  ?  "  asked  the  king. 
"  Kockeritz,  tell  me  what  has  become  of  my  faith- 
ful Thomas?" 

"  We  found  him  exactly  in  the  condition  stated 
in  the  spy's  report,"  said  General  Kockeritz, 
hastily.  "  He  lay  in  the  interior  of  the  carriage  ; 
his  hands  and  feet  firmly  tied ;  his  head  covered 
with  a  cape,  which  had  been  closely  fastened 
round  his  neck  to  prevent  him  from  crying ;  it 
had,  moreover,  almost  choked  him  when  we  ar- 
rived." 

"  But  he  has  recovered  from  his  fright  ?  "  asked 
the  king,  in  a  tone  of  sympathy. 

"  Yes,  your  majesty,"  said  Kockeritz,  "  and  he 
would  not  permit  Timm  to  accompany  him  to 
Sans-Souci.  He  felt  strong  enough  to  return  to 
Potsdam,  and  arrived  here  at  the  same  time  as 
we  did." 

"  I  suppose  you  have  ordered  him  to  say  noth- 
ing about  the  whole  affair  ?  " 

"Yes,  your  majesty,  and  he  swore  he  would 
not  mention  it." 

"  And  now,  gentlemen,  give  me  your  opinion. 
Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth,  you  have  satisfied  your- 
self now  that  the  French  really  intended  to  seize 
and  abduct  me  to-night  ?  " 

"I  have  unfortunately  satisfied  myself  that 
they  made  such  an  attempt,"  said  the  field- 
marshal. 

"  And  you,  Kockeritz,  believe  so,  too  ?  " 

"  I  do,  your  majesty ;  I  am  fully  convinced 
that  such  an  outrage  was  in  contemplation." 

"  And  you,  M.  Chancellor  of  State?  " 

"  I  was  confident  of  the  existence  of  this  plot 
before  coming  hither,  and  every  thing  has  con- 
firmed it ;  yes,  such  an  outrage  was  surely  in- 
tended. The  French  meant  to  seize  your  sacred 
person." 

"  Will  your  majesty  permit  me  also  to  reply  to 
this  question  ?  "  said  Major  Natzmer. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  the  king,  sur- 
prised. "  Have  you  not  just  arrived  ?  How  can 
you  pass  an  opinion  on  what  occurred  before 
your  arrival  ?  " 

"  Your  majesty,  it  is  true  I  have  just  novr 
come ;  but  still  I  knew  what  was  to  occur  here, 


THE   COURIER'S   RETURN. 


129 


ana  wliat  an  infamous  transaction  was  planned," 
sui'l  Major  Nat/.mer.  "  The  Emperor  Alexander 
iiave  me  this  information  ;  he  had  just  received 
from  a  perfectly  reliable  source  the  news  that 
M.ir-hal  Augereau  had  been  instructed  to  seize 
tiif  person  of  your  majesty.  The  emperor  was 
•y  alarmed,  and  told  me  he  would  be  unable 
to  find  any  rest  until  he  had  heard  that  you  were 
;ind  had  left  Berlin  and  Potsdam.*  I  myself 
set  out  at  once  in  the  greatest  consternation,  and 
as  I  left  the  emperor  on  the  13th  of  January,  I 
would  have  arrived  here  much  earlier  if  I  had  not 
h'-ard  at  Landshut  that  Murat  had  issued  an  or- 
der to  all  the  authorities  to  have  me  arrested  and 
conveyed  to  the  French  headquarters,  f  This 
compelled  me  to  take  a  roundabout  course,  and 
now  I  rejoice  the  more  heartily  as  I  have  arrived 
at  the  very  time  to  caution  your  majesty,  in  the 
n  \me  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  against  the  in- 
sidious designs  of  the  French." 

The  king  made  no  reply.  He  paced  the  room 
slowly  and  with  his  head  bent  down  ;  the  four 
iT'-ntlemen  stood  in  silence  on  both  sides  of  the 
cabinet.  Suddenly  standing  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  with  his  countenance  full  of  determination, 
said  :  "  Gentlemen,  I  will  tell  you  a  state 
t.  Will  you  pledge  me  your  word  of  honor, 
ill  four  of  you,  that  you  will  keep  it  ?  " 


M  Life  of  York,"  voL  11.,  p.  120.     t  Ibid. 


"  We  will ! "  they  all  shouted  at  the  same  mo- 
ment. 

"  Listen  to  me,  then,"  added  the  king.  "  I 
shall  leave  Potsdam  and  repair  to  Breslau,  whithei 
the  seat  of  government  will  be  temporarily  trans- 
ferred. All  the  necessary  prepa  rations  must  be 
made  from  this  hour  with  the  utmost  dispatch 
and  prudence.  To-morrow  nigb  r  I  shall  set  out 
with  the  crown  prince  ;  the  rest  of  the  royal  fam- 
ily will  follow  me  on  the  next  day.  Troops  will 
be  stationed  along  the  route ;  the  hussars  form- 
ing my  escort,  and  the  lifeguards  following  to 
Breslau.  It  is  my  duty  to  place  myself  beyond 
the  reach  of  insidious  attacks,  and  to  render  it 
impossible  for  the  French  to  seize  me.  I  will, 
therefore,  go  to  Breslau ! "  While  uttering  these 
words,  the  king  glanced  successively  at  the  faces 
of  the  four  gentlemen.  He  saw  that  Field-Mar- 
shal Kalkreuth  looked  gloomy  and  abstracted, 
and  opposite  him  the  chancellor  of  state,  with 
burning  cheeks  and  radiant  eyes. 

"Well,  Hardenberg,"  said  the  king,  mildly, 
"  have  you  nothing  to  say  to  me  ?  " 

"  I  am  unable  to  say  any  thing,"  whispered 
Hardenberg,  in  a  tremulous  voice,  "but  I  do 
what  I  have  not  done  for  many  years  past — I 
weep  tears  of  joy  !  Our  night  is  at  an  end ;  a 
new  morning  is  dawning  upon  Prussia,  and  the 
sun  of  a  new  era  will  shed  his  beams  upon  all 
of  us!" 


THE    VOLUNTEERS. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE   MANIFESTO. 

THE  people  were  moving  in  dense  crowds 
through  Berlin.  The  long  and  splendid  street 
"  Unter  den  Linden  "  was  filled  with  a  vast  multi- 
tude, whose  greeting  cheers  resembled  the  noise 
of  the  ocean's  billows. 

"  The  king  has  safely  arrived  at  Breslau  !  " 
cried  one  of  the  men  to  another,  and  immediately 
the  enthusiastic  cry  of  "  Long  live  the  king ! " 
burst  from  all  those  who  heard  it,  and,  like  a  ju- 
bilant echo,  the  people  along  the  whole  street  re- 
peated, "  Long  live  the  king ! " 

"  The  king  has  reappointed  General  Scharn- 
horet  quartermaster-general,  and  General  Blucher 
is  with  him  at  Breslau  !  "  exclaimed  a  stentorian 
voice. 

"  Long  live  Scharnhorst !  Long  live  Blucher ! " 
shouted  the  crowd.  "  Long  live  our  heroes  !  " 
"Down  with  the  French!"  and  thousands  an- 
swered in  tones  of  intense  hatred,  "Down  with 
the  French  ! " 

"  They  so  long  trampled  us  under  foot ! "  cried 
another  citizen.  "  Now,  let  us  pay  them  for  it ! 
Come,  let  us  go  to  the  French  ambassador  and 
»ive  him  a  few  groans !  We  will  no  longer  be 
eilent ! " 

"  Yes,  we  are  determined  to  speak ! "  yelled 
the  multitude,  who  hurried  toward  the  gate  in 
front  of  which  the  residence  of  the  ambassador 
was  situated.  But  suddenly  they  were  stopped 
by  a  procession  approaehin<  from  the  Branden- 


burg gate.  It  was  headed  by  three  men — one 
short  and  feeble  frame,  his  face  pale  and  ema- 
ciated, but  lit  up  by  large  flashing  blue  eyes ; 
the  second  was  tall  and  broad-shouldered,  his  eye 
looking  frank  and  bold,  and  his  hair  falling  on  hia 
shoulders  like  a  lion's  mane ;  the  third  was  not 
tall,  but  of  a  firmly-knit  frame,  and,  with  hia 
proud  head  and  intrepid  air,  looked  like  the  em- 
bodiment of  chivalry.  Behind  them  was  a  line 
of  more  than  two  hundred  youths,  in  light,  sim- 
ple attire,  their  cheeks  glowing  with  excitement 
or  exercise,  and  their  eyes  flashing  with  enthu- 
siasm. 

"Hurrah!"  shouted  the  people.  "Here  ars 
the  Turners !  Here  is  Father  Jahn  with  his 
Turners !  Long  live  Jahn  ! " 

The  Turners,  at  a  beck  from  "Father  Jahn,'' 
had  taken  position  across  the  street,  and  thus, 
like  a  chain,  prevented  the  citizens  from  pass- 
ing on.  The  three  leaders  stood  in  front,  and 
gazed  gravely  upon  the  approaching  multitude. 

"Clear  the  track!"  cried  the  crowd.  "We 
have  business  to  attend  to  on  the  square  in  front 
of  the  gate  ! " 

"  Believe  me,  it  is  as  I  said,"  whispered  the 
smallest  of  the  three  men  to  his  neighbor.  "  It 
is  a  riot  directed  against  the  French  ambassador  ! " 

"  Where  are  you  going  ? "  shouted  the  man 
with  the  lion's  mane,  pushing  back  those  ajb  the 
head  of  the  crowd  with  his  herculean  arms. 

"We  are  going  to  the  French  ambassador,  to 
sing  him  a  new  German  song,  and  accompany  it 
with  stones  for  his  windows." 


THE    MANIFESTO. 


131 


"  And  why  do  you  wish  to  do  so  ?  "  asked  the 
tall  man.  "  What  do  you  care  for  the  French- 
man on  this  beautiful  and  joyous  day  ?  Men  like 
you  have  something  else  to  do  than  to  break  the 
windows  of  the  French  ambassador.  There  will 
be  other  battles  before  long.  I  hope  you  have 
heard  or  read  what  great  events  have  occurred  ; 
I  hope  you  know  the  message  which  the  king  had 
sent  to  us  from  Breslau  ?  " 

41  No,  we  kuow  nothing  about  them  ! "  replied 
a  few  voices.  "  Yes,  we  do,"  said  others.  "  But 
we  would  like  to  hear  the  news  again,"  cried  an- 
other. "  Pray,  repeat  it  to  us,  Father  Jahn  !  " 

44 1  am  not  very  well  able  to  do  so ;  our  gym- 
nastic performances  to-day  have  exhausted  me," 
replied  Jahn.  "  I  went  out  of  the  gate  with  my 
pupils  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning.  These 
rntlcmen  came  to  us  and  told  us  the  news, 
ami  that  is  the  reason  why  we  have  come  back. 
My  friend  will  tell  you  what  he  told  me,  and  he 
knows  better  how  to  speak  than  I  do,  for  he  has 
an  eloquent  tongue.  This  is  well  known  to  all 
of  you,  for  who  among  you  is  not  acquainted  with 
Frederick  Schlcierrnacher,  the  great  preacher?" 

44  Schleiermacher  1  Long  live  Schleiermacher  ! 
Let  Schleiermacher  repeat  to  us  what  the  king 
siiiii !  Let  him  tell  us  what  is  on  the  large  pla- 
cards on  the  street  corners.  Hearing  it  read, 
we  understand  it  better  than  on  reading  it  our- 
-."  And  many  arms  were  stretched  out 
toward  the  feeble  little  man  who  stood  by  the 
Fide  of  Jahn,  lifting  him  up  and  placing  him 

ntly  on  the  balcony  fixed  above  the  door  of  a 

boring  house. 

That  is  a  good  pulpit,"  shouted  the  people ; 
leiermaeher,  address  us  from  it !" 

little  man  with  bright  eyes  and  a  genial 
tcuance  gazed  for  a  moment  in  silence  upon 
his  auditors,  who  thronired  around  him  in  sus- 
-o  and  curiosity.  II,- then  raised  his  arms, 
commanding  silence.  The  laughter,  shouts,  and 
jvlis,  died  away ;  all  eyes  were  fixed  upon  Schleier- 
macher, and  the  noise  of  the  multitude  seemed 
arrested  as  by  a  ma^u-ian's  wand,  as  the  rd 
the  preacher  resounded  through  the  street  clear 
•  mi  distinct  "You  want  me  to  read  what  tut- 


been  addressed  to  us  all,"  he  said,  "the  mani- 
festo which  Minister  von  Hardenberg  has  issued 
to  the  people  in  the  king's  name.  Listen,  then  ! " 
He  took  a  large  folded  paper  from  his  breast- 
pocket, and,  opening  it,  read  as  follows  :  "  '  The 
dangerous  position  in  which  the  state  has  been 
placed  by  recent  events  requires  a  rapid  augmen- 
tation of  the  troops  now  in  arms,  while  our  finan- 
ces admit  of  no  lavish  expenditures.  In  con- 
sideration of  the  patriotism  and  faithful  attach- 
ment to  the  king  which  have  always  animated 
the  people  of  Prussia,  and  manifested  themselves 
most  strikingly  in  times  of  danger,  there  is  but 
an  opportunity  required  to  give  a  definite  direc- 
tion to  these  sentiments,  and  to  the  desire  for 
activity  which  distinguishes  so  many  young  men, 
that  they  may  swell  by  their  accession  to  the 
army  the  ranks  of  the  older  defenders  of  the 
country,  whom  they  would  emulate  in  nobly  ful- 
filling the  first  of  all  duties  incumbent  upon  us. 
For  this  reason  his  majesty  has  designed  to  order 
the  organization  of  companies  of  volunteers,  to  be 
embodied  with  the  regiments  of  infantry  and  cav. 
airy  already  in  the  service,  that  an  opportunity  to 
enter  the  army  in  a  manner  suitable  to  their  edu- 
cation, and  their  position  in  life,  may  be  given  to 
all  those  classes  who,  under  the  existing  con- 
scription laws,  are  exempt  from  service,  and  are 
rich  enough  to  pay  for  their  own  outfit  and  horse, 
and  that  a  prospect  of  distinguishing  themselves 
may  be  held  out  to  men  who,  owing  to  their  edu- 
cation and  intellect,  might  immediately  do  good 
service,  and  soon  be  appointed  line  and  field  offi- 
cers.'* It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  read  the  con- 
clusion of  the  proclamation,"  said  Schleiermacher. 
"  You  know  enough,  for  you  know  now  that  the 
king  calls  his  people;  that  he  calls  upon  all  the 
youths  and  men  of  his  kingdom  to  rally  round 
him,  and  that  he  requests,  and  does  not  order 
them  to  do  so.  The  country  is  in  danger;  and 
not  the  king's  order,  but  your  own  voluntary 
action,  is  to  make  you  soldiers  of  the  fatherland 
and  put  arms  into  your  hands.  Remember  that 
your  free  will  is  your  most  precious  and  sacred 

*  Hordenberi:  issued  this  manifesto  at  Breslau,  on  the 
3d  of  February  ;  it  WAS  published  at  Berlin  on  the  5th. 


132 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


possession,  and  that  he  is  twice  a  hero  whom  it 
actuates,  and  is  not  forced  into  duty.  No  greater 
honor  can  be  conferred  on  you  than  that  your 
country  calls  you,  trusts  in  your  strong  arm,  and 
hopes  in  your  free  will  to  save  it  from  destruction. 
Take  that  into  consideration,  and  decide  then 
whether  you  will  stay  at  home  or  obey  the  call." 

The  two  men  who  had  been  by  his  side  at  the 
head  of  the  procession,  Jahn,  the  brave  Turner, 
and  the  chivalrous  La  Motte  Fouque,  now  as- 
cended the  balcony. 

"  I  do  not  care  to  stay  at  home  when  my  coun- 
tey  calls  me  to  her  aid ! "  exclaimed  M.  de  la 
Motte  Fouqu£,  in  a  loud,  sonorous  voice.  k'  I  joy- 
fully offer  my  services  as  a  soldier.  I  have  a 
wife  and  children,  but  my  country  is  to  me  more 
precious  than  they  are,  and  I  enroll  here  my  name 
as  the  first  volunteer  who  responds  to  the  call  of 
his  king  and  country." 

"And  I  enroll  my  name  as  the  second  volun- 
teer ! "  exclaimed  Jahn,  the  Turners'  father.  "  I 
swear  here  to  my  country  that  I  will  joyously  fight 
for  it.  Henceforth,  my  blood  and  life  belong  to 
the  fatherland. — And  where  are  you,  my  boys,  my 
Turners  ?  Shall  I  march  out  all  alone,  or  will  you 
accompany  me  ?  " 

"  We  will  go  with  you ! "  cried  a  hundred 
youthful  voices,  and  their  enthusiastic  shouts 
rent  the  sky.  "  We  will  march  with  you  !  We 
will  fight  for  the  fatherland ! "  And  the  crowd, 
carried  away  by  what  they  saw  and  heard — the  men 
with  tearful  eyes,  the  youths  with  flashing  glances 
— all  shouted :  "  We  will  march  with  you !  We 
will  fight  for  the  fatherland  ! "  Neighbor  gave  his 
hand  to  neighbor,  and  friend  embraced  friend ; 
those  who  had  never  before  seen  each  other  under- 
stood the  common  feeling,  and  those  who  had  never 
exchanged  a  word  conversed  now  like  old  ac- 
quaintances. One  grand  impulse  seemed  to  move 
the  multitude — one  patriotic  feeling  beamed  from 
all  eyes — one  vow  burned  in  all  hearts :  to  be 
faithful  soldiers  to  their  country.  It  was  no  mere 
transitory  enthusiasm,  soon  to  disappear,  and  to 
be  succeeded  by  a  corresponding  reaction — it  was 
no  momentary  ardor  kindled  by  the  manifesto 
issued  at  Breslau,  but  the  sacred  fire  of  patriotism 


burning  in  the  heart  of  the  whole  people  of  Prus- 
sia, and  increased  from  day  to  day.  Every  one 
felt  himself  a  soldier,  and  would  have  considered 
it  a  disgrace  to  remain  at  home  while  others 
marched  to  the  war  of  liberation. 

The  pupils  of  the  lyceums  closed  their  books, 
and  the  teachers  did  not  prevent  them ;  they  only 
appeared  in  the  school-rooms,  to  say  to  the  half- 
grown  youths :  "  Farewell !  The  country  has  called 
us !  Let  us  march  to  the  field !  Those  of  you  who 
have  reached  their  seventeenth  year,  and  are 
willing  to  fight,  follow  us ! "  And,  with  shouts 
of  exultation,  the  older  youths  rallied  round  their 
teachers,  while  the  younger  ones  retired  with 
tearful  eyes,  as  if  ashamed  of  their  age.  What 
occurred  in  the  lyceum  was  repeated  in  the  offices, 
the  courts,  the  counting-houses  of  the  bankers 
and  merchants.  No  one  would  stay  at  home,  or 
refuse  the  country  bis  arm  and  his  strength.  All 
selfish  calculations,  all  distinctions  of  rank  had 
ceased.  Princes  and  counts  were  seen  in  the 
ranks  of  the  volunteers  by  the  side  of  the  hum- 
blest youths ;  and  poor  men,  who  had  sold  every 
thing  they  had  to  buy  arms  and  a  uniform,  did 
not  think  of  their  future,  or  what  was  to  become  of 
them  after  their  return  from  the  war.  The  fathir- 
land  had  called  them,  and  they  voluntarily  took 
up  arms  in  its  defence.  Death  had  lost  its  ter- 
rors, life  had  lost  its  value.  With  exulting 
hearts,  mothers  saw  their  sous  preparing  for  the 
struggle.  The  affianced  bride  uncomplainingly 
clasped  her  departing  lover  for  the  last  time  in 
her  arms ;  without  fear  for  the  fate  of  bis  wife 
and  children,  the  husband  and  father  embraced 
his  dear  ones,  and  his  wife  did  not  attempt  to  dis- 
suade him.  She  would  have  despised  him  if  he 
desired  to  remain,  and  loved  his  wife  and  his 
children  more  devotedly  than  his  country,  calling 
to  him  in  the  hour  of  her  peril. 

Four  days  had  not  yet  elapsed  since  the  publi- 
cation of  the  manifesto  of  the  king,  when  there 
stood  on  the  Gensdarmes  market  at  Berlin 
one  hundred  and  fifty  young  volunteers,  wLD, 
within  a  few  days,  had  fully  armed  and  equipped 
themselves,  either  from  their  own  means,  or  with 
the  assistance  of  friends,  and  who  were  now 


THE   MANIFESTO. 


133 


I 


about  to  march  to  Potsdam  in  order  to  set  out 
with  a  company  of  ninety  volunteers,  which  had 
been  recruited  in  that  city  for  the  king's  head- 
quarters at  Breslau.*  All  Berlin  wished  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  farewell  of  this  first  company  of 
volunteers  which  were  sent  to  its  king.  Every 
one  desired  once  more  to  shake  hands  with  the 
courageous  defenders  of  the  country — to  shout  a 
love-greeting,  a  last  wish  to  them,  and  bless  the 
soldiers  of  the  fatherland.  The  windows  of  the 
houses  on  the  Gendarmes  market  were  therefore 
filled  with  ladies  and  children,  who  greeted  the 
departing  volunteers  with  their  handkerchiefs, 
with  wreaths  and  flowers;  the  church  bells  were 
ringing  in  their  honor,  and  the  fathers  of  the  city, 
the  burgomasters,  and  other  members  of  the 
municipality,  adorned  with  their  golden  chains, 
were  assembled  on  the  market-place  to  conduct 
the  young  soldier?,  in  the  name  of  the  city,  to  the 
gate,  and  behind  them  a  dense  multitude  filled  the 
square.  Those  remaining  looked  gloomy,  and 
t'nvied  their  brethren,  because  they  were  to  take 
the  field  at  so  early  a  day ;  wishing  them  joy, 
they  shouted  :  "  Prepare  quarters  for  us ;  we  shall 

m  follow  you  !  " 

The  church  bells  were  ringing,  and  amid  their 
n    peals   and  the   deafening   cheers  of  the 

ny   thousands   who   nodded    to    them    in   the 
,  and  from  the  windows  of  the  houses,  the 

ng  soldiers  left  the  Gendarmes  market,  es- 
.•orted  by  the  members  of  the  municipality.  They 
lid  not,  however,  inarch  dinvll\  to  t!ir  !' 

te.     They  would  not  leave  Berlin  without  re- 

ving  thrlil. '-ini:  of  the  Church,  and  this  was  to 

given  by  the  man  who  road  to  them  the  mani- 
festo four  days  before,  and  who  had  exhorted 
them  to  comply  with  the  call  of  their  country.  A 
committee,  appointed  by  the  young  volunteers, 
had  the.  1  on  Schleiermachor,  and  re- 

liitn  to  irive  the  blessing  of  the  Church 

th<-ir  gravy  undertaking,  and   he  gl.-idly  irr.int- 
th.-ir  -.j,,n     DMTcbed    tO 


•  Nine  thousand  young  men  volunteered  at  Kerlln  in 
the  first  three  days  after  the  manifesto  wan  issued,  and 
active  preparations  were  made  to  uniform  and  ?quip  them 
tt  the  earliest  moment. 


Trinity  church.  There  were  waiting  their  moth- 
ers, sisters,  and  brides,  greeting  them  with  loving 
glances,  and  beckoning  them  to  occupy  the  re- 
served places,  embracing  and  praying  hand  in 
hand  with  them  for  the  last  time.  The  orgaL 
poured  forth  its  solemn  concords,  and  from  all 
lips  burst  forth  the  anthem  of  u  In  alien  meineit 
Tfiaten  lass  ich  den  Jfikhsten  ralhen."  *  The  last 
notes  of  the  music  had  not  yet  died  away,  when 
the  noble  face  of  Schleiermacher  appeared  in  the 
pulpit.  His  eyes  were  beaming  as  never  before; 
his  voice  was  never  so  fervent  and  powerful,  nor 
had  he  ever  spoken  with  such  irresistible  elo- 
quence, energy,  and  courage,  as  on  that  day.  A 
profound  silence  reigned  in  the  vast  building ;  every 
one  listened  eagerly  to  the  inspiring  words  of  the 
prophet  of  a  new  and  better  era,  and  inwardly 
resolved  to  remember  the  stirring  exhortations 
which  Schleiermacher  now,  in  concluding  his  ser- 
mon, addressed  to  the  young  men,  that  they 
may  remain  pure  and  true  in  the  service  of  so 
righteous  a  cause.  The  thoughts  of  the  audience 
were  with  God ;  to  Him  their  hearts  had  all 
turned.  But  now  Schleiermacher's  voice  grew 
softer ;  his  eyes,  which  had  hitherto  been  raised 
toward  heaven,  looked  upon  the  wives  and  moth- 
ers, who  sat  in  long  lines  before  him.  "  Rejoice 
in  the  Lord,  ye  mothers,"  he  said,  "blessed  are 
you  in  having  given  birth  to  such  sons  !  blessed 
your  breasts  that  nourished  such  children  !  God 
gave  them  to  you,  and  you  give  them  to  the 
fatherland  !  Rejoice  in  the  Lord,  for  He  will 
achieve  great  tliiiiiis  through  them!  Rejoice, and 
do  not  weep ! "  But  now  they  could  restrain 
no  longer  their  tears  and  sobs.  The  words  ad- 
dressed to  them  had  touched  their  feelings. 
They  felt  their  hearts'  wounds,  and  wept  aloud. 
An  electric  shock,  as  it  were,  pervaded  the  whole 
assembly ;  not  an  eye  remained  dry,  not  a  heart 
unmoved  ;  even  Srhleiennachor's  voice  was 
tremulous  when  he  uttered  his  "Amen  !  " 

They  departed  from  the  church  to  the  Potsdam 
md  along  the  rou-l  leading  to  Potsd.un,  con- 
tinuing their  march   on  the  following  day,  after 

*  "  In  all  my  deeds,  I  let  the  High-st  counsel" 


134 


NAPOLEON  AND    BLUCHEK. 


being  joined  by  the  company  which  La  Motte 
Fouque"  had  recruited  in  that  city.  The  grief 
of  their  separation  from  their  dear  ones  was  for- 
gotten as  they  hastened  toward  the  future — a 
future  of  battles  and  victories. 

"Now,  no  more  tears,  no  more  sighs !  Let  us 
sing  a  merry  song ! "  said  the  young  volunteers. 

"  Yes.  Where  is  a  poet  who  can  sing  us  a  song 
such  as  we  need  now  ?  " 

"  Fouque  is  here ;  let  him  sing !  Yes,  Fouque 
is  among  us !  We  have  elected  him  captain ! 
He  is  a  chivalrous  soldier,  and  gained  his  spurs 
in  1794,  during  the  war  against  the  French.  He 
deserves  to  be  our  captain  ! " 

"  But  he  deserves,  too,  to  be  our  bard,  for  by 
his  '  Undine '  he  has  also  won  his  laurels  as  a 
poet." 

"  Let  us  have  a  song,  brave  La  Motte  Fouque" ! " 
shouted  all  the  volunteers.  "There  is  Father 
Jahn,  who  will  persuade  him.  Ask  Fouque"  to 
eing  us  a  war-song ! " 

Jahn  galloped  up  to  the  poet,  who  was  riding 
in  thoughtful  silence  at  the  head  of  his  company ; 
il  is  true,  he  had  heard  the  solicitations  of  the 
young  men,  but  continued  his  way,  smiling  and 
muttering  to  himself.  "  Fouqu6,"  shouted  Jahn, 
hi  his  stentorian  voice ;  "do  you  not  hear  the 
requests  of  our  bold  youths  ?  Give  some  expres- 
sion to  the  enthusiasm  burning  in  their  hearts. 
Let  us  have  a  song,  then,  my  poet } " 

"Well,"  replied  Fouque',  quickly  raising  his 
head,  and  smiling  on  his  friend  ;  "  I  have  just 
composed  a  poem.  Listen  to  me,  my  friends  ! " 
He  turned  his  horse,  and  in  a  loud  voice  com- 
manded the  volunteers  to  halt. 

"  You  wish  me  to  sing.  I  will  give  you  a  song 
just  as  it  has  sprung  up  in  my  heart  during  the 
march,  and  I  have  also  composed  the  air.  When 
I  have  finished  repeat  it  with  me ! "  And  he  be- 
gan to  sing  in  a  powerful  voice : 

Frisch  auf  zum  frohlichen  Jagen, 

Es  1st  schon  an  dcr  Zeit ! 
Es  fangt  schon  an  zu  tagen, 

Dcr  Kampf  1st  nicbt  mebr  weitt 

u  Auf  lasst  die  Faulen  liegen, 

Gonnt  ihnen  ibre  Rub ; 

Wir  rucken  mit  Vergnugen 

Dem  lieben  Konig  zu. 


"  Der  Konig  bat  gesprochen : 

Wo  sind  meine  Jager  nun? 
Da  sind  wir  aufgebrocben, 
Ein  wackercs  "Werk  zu  thun, 

tt  Wir  woll'n  ein  Heil  erbnuen 
Fur  all  das  deutscbe  Land, 
Im  froben  Gottvertrauen 
Mit  rustig  starker  Hand. 

"  Schlaft  rabig  nun,  Ihr  Lteten  I 

Am  vater  lichen  Heerd, 
Derweil  mit  Feindeshieben 
Wir  ringen  Keck  bewehrt. 

"  O  Wonne  die  zu  scbutzen, 
Die  uns  das  Liebste  sind! 
Hei  1  Lasst  Kanonen  blitzen, 
Ein  frommer  mntb  gewinntl 

"  Die  mehrsten  zieh'n  einst  wieder 

Zuruck  in  Siegerreih'n ; 
Dann  tonen  Jubellieder 
Dess'  wird'ne  Freude  sein ! 

"  Wie  gluh'n  davon  die  Herzen 
So  froh  und  stark  und  weich. 
Wer  fallt,  der  kann's  verschmerzen, 
Der  hat  das  Himmelreicb !  "  * 


*  La  Motte  Fouqu6  composed  tbis  poem  on  the  march 
from  Potsdam  to  Breslau,  whither  he  conducted  the  firs{ 
companies  of  volunteers.  It  was  tbe  first  song  of  liberty 
published  in  1818: 

Mount  1  mount!  for  sacred  freedom  fight? 

The  battle  soon  must  be. 
The  night  is  past,  and  red  the  light 

Streams  o'er  the  dewy  lea. 

Up  1  let  the  coward  idlers  sleep! 

Who  envies  them  their  rest  ? 
We  march  with  joyful  hearts  to  keep 

Our  honored  king's  request. 

To  us  be  said :  u  My  brave  ones  all ! — 
My  chasseurs !  where  are  they  ? " 

Responsive  to  his  patriot  call 
We  hastened  to  obey. 

We  vowed  to  strike  with  mighty  bond 

As  it  becomes  the  free— 
A  safeguard  for  our  native  land 

With  Heaven's  grace  to  be. 

Sleep  calmly,  -wives  and  children  dear! 

To  God  your  sorrows  tell. 
The  hour,  alas !  of  blood  is  near. 

But  all  yonr  fears  dispel. 

Approved  we  hasten  to  tbe  field; 

What  though  the  strife  begins  I 
Tis  joy  our  loved  ones  thus  to  shield, 

For  pious  courage  wins. 

Returning,  all  may  not  be  found  I 

But  some,  in  glory's  grave, 
Shall  never  hear  the  songs  resound 

Of  those  they  died  t<>  save. 

Come,  glowing  heart  1  despise  the  pain 

Of  death;  for,  evermore, 
Shall  he  who  falls,  a  kingdom  ga!» 

On  heaven's  eternal  shore ! 


•MIA    PROHASKA. 


135 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

LEONORA       PROII  ASK  A. 

OLD  Sergeant  Prohaska  sat  sad  and  musing  in 
ais  old  easy-chair  near  the  stove ;  before  him 
i  copy  of  the  Vossische  Zetiung,  which  he 
had  just  perused.  He  laid  it  aside  with  a  sigh; 
supporting  his  head  on  the  leathern  cushion,  he 
puffed  clouds  of  smoke  from  his  short  clay  pipe. 
Close  to  him,  at  the  small  table  standing  in  the 
niche  of  the  only  window  which  admitted  light 
into  the  small,  dark  room,  sat  a  young  girl,  busily 
engaged  in  drawing  threads  from  a  large  piece  of 
linen,  and  putting  them  carefully  on  the  pile  of 
lint  on  the  table.  She  was  scarcely  eighteen 
years  old,  but  her  noble,  pale  countenance  wore 
an  expression  of  boldness  and  energy ;  her  fore- 
head was  high,  and  vigorous  thoughts  seemed  to 
dwell  there.  Large  black  eyes  were  flashing 
under  her  finely-arched  eyebrows,  which  almost 
touched  each  other  above  her  beautifully-chiselled, 
slightly-curved  nose.  Round  her  crimson  lips 
was  an  expression  of  melancholy,  and  her  cheeks 
seemed  to  have  been  bleached  by  grief  rather 
than  sickness.  She  was  tall  and  well  formed,  but 
her  whole  appearance  was  more  remarkable  for 
the  stern  and  heroic  character  it  indicated  than 
for  grace  and  loveliness.  While  she  was  thus  at 
work,  and  engaged  in  preparing  lint,  troubled 
thoughts  seemed  to  pass  from  time  to  time  across 
lit-r  face,  and  she  raided  ln-r  ••>••'*  to  heaven  with 
an  angry  and  reproachful  expression.  She  im- 
linen,  and  jumped  up. 

No,    father,"    she   exclaimed,   drawing   a   deep 
th,  "I  r  it  any  longer!  " 

What  is  it  tli.it  you  cannot  bear  any  longer, 

••xelaimi-d  II.T  father,  surpri 
-it  here  and  prepare  lint  while  the  whole 
world   is  astir,  while  ev.-ry  h.-art  is  swell 
patriotism  and  warlike  enthusiasm!     And  I  can- 
not  do   any  thing,  I    cannot  join  in  the  universal 
exultation — I   can    do   nothing  but  prepare   lint! 
Father,  it  is  ]•.•  ;       •,••,.,[  U-.-u-  it  !  " 

"Must  not  I  bear  it?"  asked  her  father  in  a 
tremulous  voice,     "  Must  not  I  sit  still  behind  the 


ISO 

T 


tremulous  \ 


stove,  while  all  my  old  comrades  are  taking  up 
arms  and  marching  into  the  field  ?  My  right  leg 
was  buried  at  Jena,  and  I  must  limp  about  now 
as  a  miserable  cripple;  I  cannot  even  take  re- 
venge for  the  disgrace  of  Jena ;  I  cannot  even  pa? 
the  French  for  my  leg  by  cutting  off  the  heads  of 
some  of  their  accursed  soldiers.  I  am  a  cripple, 
while  others  are  hastening  into  the  field  !  When 
/  must  bear  that,  a  girl  like  you  ought  assuredly 
not  to  complain." 

"Father,"  said  Leonora,  with  flashing  eyes, 
"  do  not  despise  me  because  I  am  a  girl !  Did 
you  not  tell  me  of  the  heroic  women  of  Spain  and 
the  Tyrol,  and  of  their  glorious  deeds  ?  Did  you 
not  tell  me  that,  by  their  intrepid  patriotism,  thej 
had  set  a  sublime  example  to  the  men,  and  that 
by  their  influence  their  country  was  to  be  saved  f 
Was  not  the  heroine  of  Saragossa  a  woman  ?  Did 
not  women  and  girls  fight  like  heroes  in  the  gorges 
of  the  Tyrol  ?  " 

"Yes,  that  is  true,"  exclaimed  her  father,  smil- 
ing, "but  then  they  were  Spanish  and  Tyroleee 
girls.  They  have  fire  in  their  veins,  and  love 
their  country  with  an  undying  patriotism  ?  " 

"  Ah,  one  need  not  be  born  in  the  South  to 
have  warm  blood,"  exclaimed  Leonora,  ardently. 
"  It  is  not  the  sun  that  gives  love  of  country, 
and  patriotic  hearts  may  throb  even  under  the 
snow." 

"  Have  you  such  a  heart,  Leonora  ? "  asked 
her  father,  casting  on  her  a  long  and  searching 
toftk. 

"  Father,"  she  said,  pressing  her  hands  on  her 
bosom,  "there  is  something  burning  here  like 
fire ;  and  at  times  when  I  hear  how  all  are  rallying 
round  the  flag— and  bow  the  warlike  enthusiasm 
is  pervading  the  whole  country,  I  feel  as  if  the 
Mood  would  burst  from  my  heart  and  head.  It 
is  true  I  am  no  Spanish  girl,  but  I  am  a  Prussian 
girl !  " 

"  Ah,  I   would    you   were  a  Prussian  boy  ! n 

i  her  father,  shaking  his  head.     "If  you 

were,  I  believe  you  would  look  well  in  the  ranks 

of  the  volunteers  ;  they  would  not  likely  reject  the 

young  soldier  of  eighteen." 

"  I  am  quite  tall  and  strong,  although  I  am  txii 


136 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


a  girl,"  exclaimed  Leonora,  with  flashing  eyes ; 
"  I  have  seen  among  the  soldiers  who  started  yes- 
terday many  volunteers  who  were  a  great  deal 
shorter  and  slighter  than  I  am." 

"  But,  at  all  events,  they  had  shorter  hair  and  a 
stronger  voice  than  you  have,"  laughed  her  father. 
"  Oh,  I  can  cut  off  my  hair,"  she  said,  quickly  ; 
"  and  as  for  my  voice,  Kalbaum,  the  tailor,  who 
accompanied  the  volunteers,  has  a  voice  no 
stronger  than  mine,  and  yet  he  was  accepted. 
And  then — '' 

"  Hush  !  "  interposed  her  father  quickly.  "  I 
hear  your  mother  coming.  Do  not  speak  of  such 
things  when  she  is*  present.  It  would  alarm 
her.  Bold  thoughts  must  be  locked  up  in  our 
hearts,  for,  if  we  speak  of  them,  it  looks  like 
braggadocio ;  we  are  only  allowed  to  speak  of 
bold  deeds.  Do  not  forget  that,  my  daughter,  and 
give  me  a  kiss ! "  Leonora  hastened  to  her  father, 
and  encircling  him  with  her  arms,  pressed  a  glow- 
ing kiss  on  the  lips  of  the  old  invalid. 

"Father,"  she  whispered,  "I  believe  you  un- 
derstand me,  and  can  read  my  thoughts  !  " 

"  God  alone  is  able  to  read  our  thoughts,"  said 
her  father,  solemnly,  "  and  it  is  only  from  Him 
that  we  must  not  conceal  any  thing.  But  what  is 
that  ?  Is  not  your  mother  weeping  outside  ?  " 
And  old  Prohaska  jumped  up  and  limped,  as 
quickly  as  his  wooden  leg  permitted,  toward  the 
door. 

At  this  moment  the  door  was  noisily  opened, 
and  a  woman  appeared  on  the  threshold.  Be- 
hind her  was  a  tall,  slender,  and  pale  boy,  scarcely 
fourteen  years  of  age.  Both  entered  the  room 
with  tearful  eyes  and  loud  lamentations. 

"Wife,  what  is  the  matter — what  has  hap- 
pened?" exclaimed  Old  Prohaska,  anxiously. 

"  Why  do  you  weep,  my  brother  ?  "  asked 
Leonora,  hastening  to  the  boy,  and  clasping  nirn 
in  her  arms.  He  laid  his  head  on  her  breast  and 
wept  aloud. 

"  What  has  happened  ? "  wailed  his  mother. 
"  All  our  hopes  are  blasted  ;  we  have  been  re- 
jected ! " 

"Rejected?  Where?  And  by  whom  ?"  asked 
the  invalid,  in  amazement. 


'"  By  the  military  commission  !  "  cried  his  wife, 
drying  her  tears  with  her  long  apron. 

"  What  did  you  want  of  the  military  commis- 
sion ?  Did  you  desire  to  become  a  vivandiert, 
old  woman  ?  " 

"No,  but  Charles  wanted  to  enlist,  father! 
Yes,  you  must  know  all  now.  We  thought  we 
would  prepare  a  joyous  surprise  for  you,  but  the 
good  Lord  and  the  military  commission  would  not 
let  us  do  so.  Look,  old  man  !  I  perceived  very 
well  how  painful  it  was  to  you,  and  how  it  was 
gnawing  at  your  heart,  that  your  wooden  leg 
compels  you  to  remain  here  at  Potsdam,  and 
prevents  your  marching  out  with  the  soldiers  who 
are  hurrying  to  the  headquarters  of  their  king  at 
Breslau." 

"  Yes,  it  is  true,  it  is  very  sad !  My  general, 
old  Blucher,  under  whom  I  fought  in  1806,  is  also 
at  Breslau,  and  what  will  he  say  when  he  looks 
for  his  old  hussars  of  1806,  and  does  not  find 
Prohaska !  He  will  say,  '  Prohaska  has  become 
a  coward — a  lazy  old  good-for-nothing.' " 

"  No,  father,  he  will  not  say  so,"  exclaimed 
Leonora,  ardently  ;  "  if  he  knows  you,  he  cannot 
say  so. — But  speak,  mother,  tell  us  what  makes 
you  weep,  and  what  has  so  afflicted  my  dear 
brother  ?  " 

"  Both  of  us  noticed  father's  secret  grief,  and 
comprehended  how  painful  it  was  for  him  to  be 
unable  to  participate  in  the  war,"  said  her  mother. 
"1  had  not  mentioned  it  to  any  one,  and  to  God 
alone  I  had  complained  how  grievous  it  is  that 
I  have  no  full-grown  son,  who,  instead  of  his 
father,  might  serve  his  king  at  the  present  time. 
Last  night,  when  all  of  you  were  asleep,  Charles 
came  to  my  bedside.  '  Mother,'  he  said  to  me, 
'  mother,  I  must  tell  you  something  !  I  will  and 
must  enlist !  It  would  be  an  eternal  disgrace  for 
me  to  stay  at  home,  particularly  as  father  is  disa- 
bled, and  cannot  fight  any  more.  Mother,  the  honor 
of  the  family  is  at  stake ;  I  must  enlist  or  die ! '  " 
''  Ah,  you  are  a  true  brother  of  mine,"  ex- 
claimed Leonora,  with  a  radiant  face,  drawing  the 
boy  closer  to  her  heart. 

u  And  what  did  you  reply  to  Charles,  mother  *  ' 
asked  the  invalid. 


LEONORA   FROHASKA. 


137 


" '  You  are  my  only  son,  aud  my  heart  would 
break  if  I  should  lose  you.  But  you  are  right  ; 
it  would  be  a  disgrace  for  our  whole  family  if  it 
did  not  furnish  a  single  soldier  to  the  king  and 
the  fatherland,  and  if  no  substitute  should  enlist 
in  your  father's  place,  and  revenge  him  on  the 
French  for  crippling  him  at  Jena.  I  will  go  with 
you  to  the  military  commission  to-morrow,  and 
we  will  pray  the  gentlemen  to  accept  you,  al- 
though you  are  still  under  age.  We  will  pray 
them  until  they  overlook  your  youth  and  enroll 
your  name.  But  say  nothing  about  it  to  father 
until  we  have  been  successful ;  then,  tell  him  all.'  " 
"  And  you  really  went  with  him  to  the  commis- 
sion ?  "  asked  the  old  man,  hastily. 

His  wife  responded  by  nodding  and   sighing, 
and  burst  again  into  tears. 

xclaimed  the  boy,  raising  his 
head  from  Leonora's  shoulder,  and  drying  his 
eyes  with  an  angry  gesture,  "  we  went  to  the  mil- 
itary commission.  We  begged,  implored,  and 
wept  !  It  was  all  in  vain  !  They  said  they  were 
not  allowed  to  accept  boys  of  fourteen ;  I  was  too 
young,  and  looked  too  feeble.  In  our  despair  we 
went  to  Eylert,  the  preacher,  and  begged  him  to 
ntercede  for  me.  He  is  always  kind  to  me,  and 
;ne  for  my  industry  in  preparing  for 
•onh'rmation.  I  revealed  my  whole  heart  to  him  ; 
I  told  him  I  must  consider  myself  disgraced,  if 

,  that  every  one  who  is  not  a  coward   i- 
ing  the  sword,  I  am  compelled  to  go  to  school.     I 
told  him  I  should   not  d:ire  to  raise  my  e 
nho-.ild  think  all  the  inhabitants  would  point  with 
their  lii  ;  the  children  in  the  streets 

would  deride  me,  and   the  old  men  would  con- 

thelt    heads    when    I    | 
then,.'' 

"Ah,  i:  .  onora, 

rally,  "hitherto  I  have  loved  you  as  a 
child,  but  he-  -hall  love  as  a  hero  ! " 

'Hut  it   w;is  all   in   vain/'  cried   Chail   - 
g  aloud   in   his  grief  and   anger.     "  Kven  M. 
'.3rt  could  not  give  us  any  comfort.     1! 
i    the  commission  to  I 

for,   though   they   overlooked   my  youth  and 
somewhat  feeble  health,  they  could  not  enroll 


inten 
often 
ronf 
I  to! 
now 


wuu 

.!._. 


""» 

..i.:i 


me  because  I  had  not  yet  been  confirmed.  Buu 
as  we  begged  so  very  hard,  and  I  shed  BO  many 
tears,  M.  Eylert  had  at  last  pity  on  me,  and  went 
with  us  once  more  to  the  military  commission. 
But  it  was  of  no  avail.  I  am  under  age  and  have 
no  certificate  of  confirmation,  and  M.  Eylert's  in 
tercession  was  fruitless.*  They  rejected  me! 
Father,  what  am  I  to  do  now  ?  I  am  doomed 
to  remain  here  at  Potsdam,  with  my  tall  figure, 
which  will  charge  me  with  cowardice  in  the  eyes 
of  every  one,  while  my  schoolmates,  who  are 
much  shorter  than  I  am,  are  allowed  to  enlist 
and  fight  for  their  country.  Oh,  mother,  why 
am  I  not  your  eldest  child?  Then  I  should  be 
preserved  from  the  disgrace  of  running  about  as 
a  coward,  or  of  being  obliged  to  have  my  certifi- 
cate of  birth  constantly  in  my  pocket ! " 

"  My  brother,"  said  Leonora,  laying  her  strong 
white  hand  on  her  brother's  light  hair,  "  if  I 
could  give  you  the  four  years  by  which  I  am  older 
than  you,  I  would  do  so,  though  it  should  cost 
me  my  life,  for  I  comprehend  your  grief.  But  I 
am  innocent  of  your  affliction,  and  I  pray  you, 
therefore,  not  to  be  angry  with  me.  It  was  God'a 
will  that  I  should  be  older,  and  have  your  place. 
You  must  take  into  consideration  that  the  war 
may  last  a  long  time ;  six  months  hence  you  will 
be  confirmed,  and  then  it  will  be  time  for  you  to 
enlist  in  the  king's  army,  and  fight  for  liberty. 
Besides,  my  dear  brother,  it  is  not  even  settled 
yet  whether  all  these  warlike  preparations  are 
really  intended  for  France.  To  be  sure,  every 
one  is  in  hope  that  such  is  the  case,  but  as  yet  no 
one  is  sure  of  it,  for  the  king  has  not  declared 
his  intentions,  and  he  is  still  at  peace  with 
Fran-- 

"No,   the    king  has    declared    his   intent; 
cried  Charles,  impetuously.     "  And  that  is  exactly 
what  causes  my  distress  and  my  despair.     It  is 
'.ii  now  that  there  will  be  war  with  France, 
You  do  not  know,  then,  what  has  occurred?  " 

••  \  and  daughter  at  the 

timi',  "  we  do  not — we  have  not  yet  seen 
am  one.     Tell  us  the  news,  Charles." 

*  Eylert,  «  Frederick  William  III.,"  vol.  li.,  p.  160. 


138 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


"Well,  we  heard  already  At  the  office  of  the 
military  commission  that  a  courier  had  just  ar- 
rived from  Breslau,  and  brought  a  proclamation, 
addressed  by  the  king  to  his  people ;  they  i^aid 
it  had  immediately  been  sent  to  the  printing-of- 
fice, and  was  to  be  posted  on  all  the  street  cor- 
ners. The  courier,  besides,  brought  the  news 
that  the  Emperor  of  Russia  had  arrived  at  Bres- 
lau, and  that  the  first  visit  was  to  Baron  von 
Stein,  who  secretly  lived  at  Breslau." 

"  Hurrah  ! "  shouted  old  Prohaska.  "  Prussia 
is  safe  now,  for  Baron  von  Stein  is  back  again, 
and  he  will  know  how  to  expel  Napoleon  and  his 
French  from  the  country.  Where  Minister  von 
Stein  is  he  tolerates  no  French,  and  that  is  the 
reason  why  Bonaparte  hates  him,  and  has  always 
been  afraid  of  him.  My  boy,  this  is  glorious 
news  !  Stein  is  back  again  ;  now  we  shall  be  all 
right !  Have  you  any  other  news  ?  " 

"Yes,  there  is  a  great  deal  yet,  father,  but 
the  tears  burst  from  my  eyes  when  I  think  of  it, 
because  I  am  unable  to  participate  in  the  strug- 
gle." 

"  Oh,  what  is  it  ?  "  begged  Leonora.  "  What 
else  has  happened  at  Breslau  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Charles,  in  a  tremulous  and  mel- 
ancholy voice,  "  the  courier  reports  that  many 
hundreds  of  volunteers  are  arriving  every  day, 
not  only  from  all  parts  of  Prussia,  but  the  whole 
of  Germany,  and  that  the  city  is  rejoicing  as 
though  a  festival  were  to  be  celebrated,  and  not 
as  though  we  were  on  the  eve  of  a  terrible  war. 
Above  all,  there  is  Major  von  Liitzow,  round 
whose  standard  hosts  of  young  men  are  rallying, 
enlisting  a  corps  of  volunteer  riflemen,  to  whom 
he  has  given  the  name  of  '  The  Legion  of  Ven- 
geance.' They  are  to  wear  a  black  uniform  as  a 
sign  of  the  sorrow  and  disgrace  that  have  weighed 
down  the  fatherland  since  1806,  and  which  they 
intend  to  avenge  before  discarding  it." 

"  Oh,  that  is  a  grand  idea,"  exclaimed  Leonora, 
with  flashing  eyes.  "  To  march  cut  in  mourning — 
kO  rush  to  the  battle-field  like  angels  of  death  and 
shout,  'We  are  the  legion  of  avengers,  sent  by 
Prussia  to  atone  for  her  disgrace  !  Our  uniform 
is  black,  but  we  intend  to  dye  it  red  in  the  blood 


of  the  French  ! '  And  then  to  fight  exultantly  in 
the  thickest  of  the  fray  for  the  fatherland,  and 
for  our  queen,  whose  heart  was  broken  by  the 
national  dishonor  and  wretchedness  !  Oh,  it  must 
be  blissful,  indeed,  to  march  with  that  legion  to 
avenge  the  tears  of  Queen  Louisa,  and — " 

"  But  Leonora  !  "  cried  her  mother,  staring  in 
amazement  at  the  young  girl  who  stood  before 
her  with  glowing  cheeks,  panting  bosom,  and  up- 
lifted right  arm,  as  if  she  had  just  drawn  the 
sword — l(  but,  Leonora !  what  is  the  matter  with 
you  ?  What  does  your  impulsiveness  mean  ? 
Has  Charles  infected  you  with  his  enthusiasm  ? 
Do  you  want  to  increase  the  excitement  and  de 
spair  of  the  poor  boy  ?  He  cannot  join  the  '  Le 
gion  of  Vengeance ; '  he  cannot  be  one  of  Liitzow's 
riflemen  ! " 

"  No,"  said  Leonora,  vehemently  and  almost 
triumphantly,  "he  cannot  be  one  of  Liitzow's 
riflemen ! " 

"  Leonora  ! "  cried  her  father,  in  a  warning 
tone,  "  Leonora,  what  are  you  saying  ?  " 

She  started  and  dropped  her  arm.  "  It  irt 
true,"  she  muttered  to  herself,  "we  should  no; 
betray  our  thoughts  ;  God  alone  must  know  them." 

Her  father  limped  to  her,  and,  laying  his  hand 
on  her  shoulder,  looked  into  her  excited  and  glow- 
ing face.  "  Come,  my  daughter,"  he  said,  "  let 
us  go  out  into  the  street  and  read  what  the  kinj; 
says  to  his  people.  For  I  believe  the  king's  proc- 
lamation must  have  been  printed  by  this  time. 
Come,  Leonora ! " 

"  No,  it  is  unnecessary  for  you  to  go  into  the 
•street  for  that  purpose,  father,"  said  Charles, 
"  we  have  brought  a  copy  of  the  proclamation  ; 
the  man  who  was  to  post  them  gave  us  one  for 
you,  saying  it  would  no  doubt  gladden  your  heart. 
Where  did  you  leave  it,  mother  ?  " 

"  I  put  it  into  my  pocket.  Here  it  is  ! "  said 
the  mother,  taking  a  large  printed  sheet  from  the 
pocket  hanging  under  her  apron.  u  There,  father, 
read  it." 

The  old  man  took  the  paper  and  handed  it  to 
Leonora.  "Read  it  to  us,  my  child,"  he  sa!i, 
tenderly.  "I  like  best  to  hear  from  your  lift 
what  the  king  says  to  his  people." 


JOAN   OF  ORLEANS. 


139 


:: 

OU9 


CHAPTER     XXIV. 

JOAN  OF  ORLEANS. 

LEONORA  took  the  paper  and  read  as  follows, 
with  crimson  cheeks,  and  her  heart  aglow  with 
enthusiasm : 

"  To  my  People  ! — I  need  not  state  the  causes 
of  the  impending  war  either  to  my  faithful  people 
or  to  the  Germans  in  general.  Unprejudiced 
Europe  is  fully  aware  of  them.  We  succumbed 
*o  the  superior  strength  of  France.  The  peace 
which  wrested  from  me  one-half  of  my  subjects, 
did  not  confer  any  blessings  upon  us,  but  inflicted 
•  leeper  wounds  upon  us  than  war  itself.  The  en- 
emy wus  bent  on  exhausting  the  resources  of  the 
country  ;  the  principal  fortresses  remained  in 
his  hands  ;  agriculture  was  paralyzed,  and  so 
•vere  the  manufactures  of  our  cities,  which  had 
formerly  reached  so  proud  an  eminence ;  trade 
was  everywhere  obstructed,  and  the  sources  of 
prosperity  were  thus  almost  entirely  ruined.  The 
••ountry  was  rapidly  impoverished.  I3y  the  most 
scientious  fulfilment  of  the  engagements  I  had 
taken  upon  myself,  I  hoped  to  mitigate  the  oner- 
ous burdens  imposed  upon  my  people,  and  to  con- 
vince the  French  emperor  at  length  that  it  was 
to  his  own  advantage  to  leave  Prussia  in  the  en- 
joyment of  her  independence ;  but  my  best  in- 
tentions were  foiled  by  arrogance  and  perfidy ; 
and  we  saw  only  too  plainly  that  Napoleon's 
than  his  wars,  would  slowly 
and  surely  ruin  us.  The  moment  has  come  when 
I  deceptions  ha-.  Brandenburgians, 

ians,  .    Pomeranians,  Lithuanians  ! 

know  what  you  have  suffered  for  seven  years 
;  you  know  what  your  fate  would  be  if  we 
ouid  not  succeed  in  the  ri  -ut  to  begin. 

Uer  the  history  of  the  past  ;   [vii;r:iil..T  tin- 
•;or;  the  gn;it  and  victorious  Frederick  ; 
remember  what  our  .  ;th  their 

ood — freedom   of  conscience,  honor,   iixicpen.i- 

•  ;     remi-m- 

the  \  'les  of  our  powerful  allies,  es- 

pecially the  Spaniards  and  the  Portuguese 
•mailer  notions,  for  the  same  blessings,  entered 


into  a  desperate  struggle  with  more  powerful  foes, 
and  achieved  a  glorious  victory.  Remember  the 
heroic  Swiss  and  Dutch.  Great  sacrifices  will  be 
required  of  all  classes,  for  our  undertaking  is  a 
great  one,  and  the  numbers  and  resources  of  our 
enemies  are  not  to  be  underrated.  You  will  pre- 
fer to  make  these  sacrifices  for  the  fatherland 
and  your  legitimate  king  rather  than  for  a  foreign 
ruler,  who,  as  is  proved  by  many  examples,  would 
devote  your  sons  and  your  last  resources  to  ob- 
jects entirely  foreign  to  you.  Confidence  in  God, 
courage,  perseverance,  and  the  assistance  of  our 
allies,  will  crown  our  honest  exertions  with  vic- 
tory. But  whatever  sacrifices  may  be  required, 
they  are  not  equivalent  to  the  sacred  objects  for 
which  we  make  them,  and  for  which  we  must 
fight  and  conquer,  if  we  do  not  wish  to  cease 
being  Prussians  and  Germans.  It  is  the  last,  de- 
cisive effort  which  we  make  for  our  existence, 
our  independence,  our  prosperity.  There  is  no 
other  issue  than  an  honorable  peace  or  a  glorious 
overthrow.  You  would  not  shrink  even  from  the 
latter,  for  honor's  sake.  But  we  may  confidentlj 
hope  for  the  best.  God  and  our  firm  determina 
tion  will  make  us  victorious,  and  we  shall  then 
obtain  peace  and  the  return  of  happiei  times. 

"FREDERICK  WILLIAM. 

"  BRESLAU,  March  17, 1813."  * 

A  pause  ensued  when  Leonora  ceased  reading. 
Her  father,  who  was  standing  by  her  side,  and 
was  supporting  his  hands  on  his  crutch,  heard  her 
with  a  very  grave  face.  Her  mother  sank  down 
on  one  of  the  cane  chairs,  and  listened  devoutly, 
her  hands  clasped,  and  her  eyes  turned  toward 
heaven ;  while  her  son,  who  was  sitting  by  her 
side,  leaned  his  arms  on  the  table,  and  buried  hia 
face  in  his  hands. 

"  Is  that  all  ?  "  asked  the  invalid,  after  a  while. 


*  This  proclamation  was  drawn  up  by  Counsellor  TOD 

Hipprl,  who  proposed  that  the  king  should  apply  to  bis 

"lirrctly,  and  call  upon  them  to  rise  against  thy 

•  unicatcd  it  to  the  chancellor  of  state 

at  one  of  the  conference  held  every  evening  at  Bres 

lau,  at  Hardenberg's  rooms,  In  presence  of  Gneisenau, 

.horat,  Thilo,  and  a  few  others.    Haidenborg  and 

all  the  rest  approved  it,  and  BO  did  the  kinjr.  when  it  was 

.aid  before  him  on  the  following  day.— Vido   Hipper* 

work  on  the  "Life  of  Frederick  WdUfttt  III.,"  p.  68. 


140 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


"  I  should  really  like  to  hear  more  of  it,  for  it 
sounds  as  sacred  as  a  church  organ.  Did  you 
read  it  all,  Leonora  ?  " 

"  No,  father,  there  is  still  another  mar  if  esto. 
It  is  printed  under  the  one  I  read  to  you.  Y  au 
yourself  must  read  it,  for  my  heart  is  throbbing 
as  if  about  to  burst.  In  his  second  manifesto  the 
king  orders  a  '  landwehr  *  and  a  *  landsturm '  to 
be  formed.  Listen  to  what  he  says  at  the  end  of 
this  second  manifesto :  '  My  cause,'  he  says,  '  is 
the  cause  of  my  people,  and  of  all  patriots  in 
Europe.'  " 

"Yes,  he  is  right,"  said  old  Prohaska  ;  "the 
king's  cause  is  our  cause  ! " 

"  Queen  Louisa  died  for  us  all,"  exclaimed  Leo- 
nora ;  "  we  should  all  join  the  Legion  of  Ven- 
geance— that  is,  to  avenge  her  death  ! " 

"  And  I — I  cannot  do  any  thing,"  wailed 
Charles,  raising  his  face,  which  was  bathed  in 
tears,  and  lifting  up  his  hands  as  if  supplicating 
God  to  help  him.  "  I  must  wait  and  suffer  here ; 
I  am  doomed  to  remain  a  boy  while  my  school- 
fellows have  become  men." 

"  Hush,"  said  his  mother,  "  an  idea  strikes  me; 
we  may,  after  all,  be  somewhat  useful  to  our 
country,  though  we  are  unable  to  furnish  soldiers 
for  it.  There  is  a  great  deal  to  be  done  besides 
fighting.  The  king's  manifesto  says  expressly : 
'  Great  sacrifices  will  be  required  of  all  classes.' 
Well,  then,  my  dear  ones,  let  us  make  sacrifices 
for  the  fatherland  and  our  king  ! " 

"  What  sacrifices  do  you  mean,  mother  ?  " 
asked  the  invalid.  "  What  have  we,  if  we  can- 
not furnish  any  soldiers  ?  " 

"  We  have  our  labor,"  exclaimed  his  wife,  with 
pride.  "When  there  is  war,  and  battles  are 
fought,  there  are  wounded  soldiers,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Of  course,  and  cripples,  too,"  said  the  invalid, 
pointing  to  his  wooden  leg. 

"  And  the  wounded  are  brought  home  and  con- 
eeyed  to  the  hospitals,  are  they  not  ?  Who  is  to 
attend  to  them,  to  dress  their  wounds,  give  them 
food,  and  nurse  them  ?  We  worn  en  will  do  so  ! 
That  is  our  task  !  I  will  nurse  the  first  wounded 
brought  to  Potsdam.  The  first  maimed  soldier, 
however,  whom  I  meet  at  the  hospital,  and  whose 


right  leg  has  been  amputated  as  that  of  my  deat 
husband,  we  shall  take  to  our  house.  You  may 
nurse  him  here,  old  man  ;  console  him  and  show 
him  that  he  may  live  quite  happily,  though  with 
but  one  leg,  and  that  wife  and  children  will  love 
their  husband  and  father  no  less  ardently,  pro- 
vided he  is  a  true  man,  and  has  a  courageous 
heart." 

"  You  are  right,  mother,"  exclaimed  Prohaska. 
"  Let  us  take  a  wounded  soldier  into  our  house, 
and  I  will  nurse  him  as  a  brother,  teaching  him  how 
to  use  his  wooden  leg,  while  you  are  at  the  hos- 
pital, attending  to  the  other  sufferers.  But  you  have 
not  thought  of  the  children.  What  are  Leonora 
and  Charles  to  do  while  we  are  thus  engaged  ?  " 

"  They  can  help  us,"  said  his  wife,  quickly. 
"  Leonora  will  have  a  great  deal  to  do.  She  will 
prepare  lint,  make  nourishing  soups,  wash  band- 
ages, and  sew  shirts  and  clothing." 

The  invalid  cast  a  quick  glance  on  Leonora. 
She  stood,  drawn  up  to  her  full  height,  in  the 
middle  of  the  room ;  a  proud,  contemptuous  smile 
was  playing  about  her  lips,  which  uttered  no 
word  in  reply  to  her  mother's  plans. 

"  But  what  will  Charles  do  ?  "  asked  Prohaska, 
quickly.  "  He  cannot  be  as  useful  as  his  sister." 

"Father!  "  ejaculated  Leonora,  somewhat  re- 
proachfully. 

"Hush!"  he  said,  almost  sternly,  "mother  is 
right;  it  behooves  you  women  to  prepare  lint, 
cook  soups,  nurse  the  wounded,  and  sew  shirts 
for  them.  But  war  itself  is  the  task  of  the  men. 
But,  my  wife,  before  telling  me  what  Charles  is 
to  do  for  our  wounded,  I  must  ask  a  very  sad 
question.  Where  shall  we  find  money  for  the 
expenses  we  shall  have  to  incur  ?  We  are  unfor- 
tunately poor,  dependent  on  the  labor  of  our 
hands.  This  small  house  and  my  pension  of 
three  dollars  a  month  constitute  our  whole  for 
tune,  and  if  you  were  not  the  most  skilful  hair 
dresser  in  Potsdam — if  1  could  not  besides  cam 
a  few  dollars  by  making  baskets,  and  if  Leonora 
were  not  the  best  seamstress  in  town,  I  should 
like  to  know  how  we  could  live  and  send  Charles 
to  the  Lyceum.  But  if  we  are  to  nurse  the 
wounded,  and  devote  our  labor  to  then)  alone,  we 


JOAN'   OF   ORLEANS 


141 


•hall  unfortunately  soon  lack  the  necessaries  of 
life." 

"  1  have  thought  of  all  thai,  husband,"  paid  his 
wife,  eagerly.  "  But,  listen  to  me !  Charles  wants 
also  to  have  his  share  in  our  sacrifices ,  h<3  does 
not  intend  to  be  idle  while  all  are  at  work  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  country.  As  he  can- 
not enlist  and  ILht,  lie  must  use  his  head.  He 
will,  therefore,  publish  this  advertisement :  As 
I  have  unfortunately  been  rejected  by  the  military 
commission  on  account  of  ray  youth,  and  because 
I  have  not  yet  been  confirmed,  I  request  generou? 
patriots  to  allow  me  to  give  private  lessons  to 
their  children,  that  I  may  earn  a  sufficient  sum 
to  nurse  and  support  a  wounded  soldier  till  his 
complete  recovery.'  " 

"Yes,  I  will  do  that!"  exclaimed  Charles. 
"  The  citizens  will  learn  then  why  I  have  not  en- 
listed, and  I  shall,  moreover,  be  able  to  earn 
money  for  the  country.  I  shall  certainly  get 
pupils,  for  my  teaehera  are  pleased  with  me,  and  I 
;xm  already  in  the  first  class.  I  can  give  lessons 
in  Latin,  Greek,  mathematics,  and  history;  I  have 
good  testimonials,  and,  for  the  sake  of  the  noble 
object  I  have  in  view,  parents*  will  assuredly  in- 
trust their  children  to  me,  and  pay  me  well  for 
my  trouble." 

"  All  of  you  will  have  employment,  then,"  said 
Leonora,  "and  your  labor  will  benefit  the  coun- 
try. But  i  ••]('  useful  to 
the  country." 

"Well,  you  can  "  said  her  mother; 

"you  can  prepare  food,  wash,  and  sew  sh: 

"However  industrious  I  might  be,  n. other.  I 
could  in  that  way  earn  only  as  much  as  my  own 

pport  would  cost,"  said  Leonora,  shaking  her 
"I  can  be  of  no  use  to  you,  I  am  supcr- 
;  I  will  go  therefore  to  unuth. -r  plan-,  win-re 

can  render  myself  useful  and  make  money." 

44  But  whither  do  you  intend  to  go,  and  what 
do  you  wish  to  do  ?  "  asked  her  mother  in  amaze- 
ment, while  her  ;  upon 
her. 

"To   Berlin.    an>i  ituation    as    s»ale><- 

womaa,"   said  Leonora.     "What   money  I  earn 
I  shall   send  to  you,  and   you   will   *pend   it  for 


your  wounded  soldier.  You  know,  mother,  my 
godfather,  Rudolph  Werkmeister,  who  is  a  mer- 
chant at  Berlin,  has  often  asked  me  to  go  to 
see  him,  and  take  such  a  situation  at  his  house. 
I  have  always  refused,  because  I  did  not  like  to 
leave  you,  but  thought  I  would  stay  with  you  and 
devote  my  whole  life  to  nursing  you ;  but  God 
has  decreed  otherwise.  Yesterday  my  godfather 
wrote  again,  stating  that  his  wife  had  been  taken 
sick,  and  that  he  was  greatly  embarrassed  be- 
cause he  had  no  one  at  his  house  on  whom  he 
could  depend.  He  offers  me  a  salary  of  eighty 
dollars  a  year.  Now,  I  pray  you,  dear  parents, 
let  me  go !  Let  me  pursue  my  own  paths,  and  do 
my  duty  as  I  understand  it.  Dear  mother,  I  am 
sure  you  will  not  refuse  your  consent  ?  You  will 
permit  me  to  go  this  very  day  to  Berlin,  and 
make  money  for  our  wounded  soldiers  ?  " 

"  I  will,  my  child,"  said  her  mother,  her  voice 
trembling  with  emotion.  "I  have  no  diamonds 
and  golden  chains  to  give  my  country,  so  I  give 
to  it  the  most  precious  and  beautiful  jewels  i 
have — my  children.  Yes,  go,  my  Leonora;  tako 
the  situation  offered  you,  and  give  the  money  you 
earn  to  the  fatherland  and  its  soldiers." 

"  Oh,  thanks,  mother ! "  exclaimed  Leonora, 
hastening  to  her  and  clasping  her  in  her  arms — 
"  thanks,  for  permitting  me  to  put  my  mite  on 
the  altar  of  the  country ! "  She  kissed  her  mother 
with  fervent  tenderness,  and  then  turned  toward 
her  father.  "And  you,  father,"  she  said,  in  a 
low  and  almost  timid  tone — "  you  do  not  say  a 
word — you  do  not  give  your  consent." 

The  invalid  stood  leaning  on  his  crutch,  and 
looked  thoughtfully  into  the  noble  face  of  his 
daughter.  He  then  slowly  raised  his  right  hand 
and  laid  it  on  Leonora's  shoulder.  "I  repeal 
what  your  mother  said.  Like  her,  I  have  nt 
treasures  to  give  my  country  except  this  jewel 
my  Leonora !  Go,  my  daughter ! — do  what  you 
believe  to  be  your  duty,  and  may  God  bless  you !  " 
( >prning  his  arms,  she  threw  herself  into  them  and 
leaned  her  head  on  his  breast. 

"  And   now,"   said  Prohaska,  gently  disenga- 

trin-j  him-elf  trom  a  long  and  tearful  embrace,  "  let 

'•  calm.    These  -ire  the  first  tears  I  have  wept 


142 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


since  the  death  of  our  dear  Queen  Louisa — the 
first  for  your  sake,  my  Leonora !  May  the  Lord 
forgive  them  to  a  poor  father  who  oas  but  one 
daughter  !  The  heart  will  yield  to  jts  emotions, 
but  now  I  must  again  be  a  soldier,  who  knows 
no  tears ! " 

"But,  husband,  Leonora  will  not  leave  us  im- 
mediately," said  her  mother.  "  She  must  remain 
yet  a  day  with  us.  Alas !  we  discover  what 
treasures  we  possessed  only  when  we  lose  them. 
I  believe  I  have  never  loved  Leonora  so  intensely 
as  I  do  at  this  hour,  and  my  heart  is  unable  to 
part  with  her  so  suddenly.  I  must  first  accustom 
myself  to  the  separation,  and  engrave  her  image 
upon  my  soul,  that  I  may  never  forget  her  dear 
features.  Let  her  stay,  then,  until  to-morrow  ! " 

The  invalid  gravely  shook  his  head.  "No," 
he  said ;  "  what  is  to  be  done  must  be  done  at 
once;  otherwise,  our  hearts  will  grow  weak,  and 
our  tears  soften  our  resolutions.  To-day  I  can 
permit  Leonora  to  leave  us ;  whether  I  shall  be 
able  to  do  so  to-morrow,  I  do  not  know." 

"Father,  the  stage-coach  starts  for  Berlin  in 
two  hours,  and  I  shall  take  passage  in  it !  "  ex- 
claimed Leonora,  quickly.  "You  are  right,  what 
is  to  be  done  must  be  done  now,  and  when  we 
have  taken  a  resolution,  we  must  not  hesitate  to 
carry  it  into  effect.  I  will  go  to  my  chamber  and 
pack  my  trunk." 

"I  will  go  and  help  you,"  said  her  mother, 
hastening  toward  the  door,  and  leaving  the  room 
with  Leonora. 

"And  I  will  write  my  advertisement,"  said 
Charles.  "It  must  be  published  to-morrow,  that 
I  am  obliged  to  stay  here  because  my  country 
will  not  accept  me  as  a  soldier,  and  that  I  desire 
to  give  private  lessons,  the  proceeds  of  which  are 
to  be  devoted  to  the  support  of  a  wounded  sol- 
dier." 

"  And  I— what  shall  I  do  ?  "  asked  the  old  in- 
valid, when  he  was  alone.  "I  must  swallow  my 
tears,  and  tell  no  one  my  thoughts.  I  shall 
quietly  accustom  myself  to  the  idea  that  the  dar- 
ling of  my  hoart,  my  Leonora,  is  to  leave  me,  and 
that  my  old  eyes  are  to  see  no  more  her  dear 
face,  or  my  ears  hear  her  voice.  Ah,  when  she 


looked  at  me,  I  felt  as  though  it  were  spring  in 
my  heart,  and  the  sun  shining  there ;  and  when 
I  heard  her  voice  I  thought  it  music  rejoicing 
my  soul.  Now,  how  quiet  and  gloomy  all  around 
me  will  be  in  the  small  house — no  more  sunshino 
or  music  !  all  will  be  gone  when  Leonora  is  gone. 
And  will  she  come  back,  then  ? — will  not  some 
bullet,  some  sword-blade — hush,  my  thoughts  !  I 
must  not  betray  them !  Be  still,  my  heart,  and 
weep  !  Be  still  and — "  Tears  choked  his  voice, 
and  the  strong  man,  overwhelmed  with  grief,  sank 
into  his  easy-chair  and  sobbed  aloud.  After  a 
long  time  he  raised  himself  again  and  dried  his 
tears.  "  Fie,  Sergeant  Prohaska ! "  he  said  aloud. 
"  You  sit  here  and  cry  like  an  old  woman,  and 
wring  your  hands  in  grief,  instead  of  being  glad 
and  thanking  the  Lord  that  a  substitute  has  been 
found  for  the  invalid  sergeant  with  the  wooden 
leg.  Thunder  and  lightning,  Sergeant  Prohaska ! 
I  advise  you  to  behave  yourself,  and  not  be  weak 
and  foolish,  while  women  are  becoming  men. 
Keep  your  head  erect,  turn  your  eyes  on  the 
enemy,  and  then,  '  Charge  them ! '  as  old  father 
Blucher  used  to  say.  I  will  go  to  work  now,"  lu 
continued,  drawing  a  deep  breath,  after  repeated!} 
pacing  the  small  room  with  measured  steps. 
"  Yes,  I  will  go  to  work,  and  that  no  one  maj 
discover  that  I  have  wept,  1  will  sing  a  beautiful 
song  I  learned  yesterday  from  a  volunteer.  Yes, 
I  will  work  and  sing ! "  He  hastened  to  the 
chamber  adjoining  the  sitting-room,  and  brought 
from  it  a  neat  half-finished  basket  upon  which  he 
had  been  at  work  the  day  before.  "  It  must  be 
finished  to-day;  I  have  promised  it,"  he  said, 
sitting  down  on  his  old  easy-chair.  He  then  com- 
menced  working  assiduously,  and  sang  in  a  pow' 
erful  voice: 

"  Nun  mit  Gott !   Es  ist  beschlossen ! 
Aul',  Ihr  wackern  Streitgenossen, 

Endlich  kommt  der  Ebrentag! 
Besser  flugs  und  frohlicb  sterben, 
Als  so  langsam  bin  vcrderben, 

Und  versiechen  in  der  Scbmacb, 

"  Endlich  darf  das  Herz  sich  regen, 
Sich  die  Zunge  frei  bewegen, 

AHe  Fesseln  sind  entzwei. 
Ach,  da  Alles  scbier  zerstoben, 
Kara  der  Retterarm  from  oben, 

Neuffeboren  sind  wir.  frei  I 


JOAN   OF   ORLEANS. 


143 


"  T»g  der  Freihcit,  Tag  der  Wonnc ! 
Briider,  seht !  es  tanzt  die  Sonne, 

Wieamerstcn  Ostertagl 
Todte  sprengen  ihre  Grufte, 
Un«l  durch  Berg  und  Thai  und  Klufte 

Hallt  ein  freudig  Jauchzen  uacli ! 

*  Auferstanden,  auferstandon 
Aus  dtr  Knechtschafl  Todesbanden, 

Strelter  Gottes,  nun  zu  Ilauf  ! 
DnsreAdler!   Ha  sie  wittern 
Ihrer  Eaub— die  Feinde  zittern, 

Unsre  Adler  fahren  auf  I 

44  Zn  den  Waffen,  zu  den  Eossen, 
Ant,  Ihr  wackern  Kampfgenossen 

Er  1st  da,  Der  Ehrentag ! 
Beascr  flugb  und  frohlich  sterben, 
Als  so  langaam  bin  verderben, 
T'nd  verslochen  In  dt-r  Schmach !  M  * 

.it  is  better  to  die  quickly  and  merrily 
than  slowly  pine  away  and  perish  in  disgrace," 
repeated  a  sonorous  voice  behind  him.  It  was 
Leonora,  who  had  just  entered  the  room,  urfno- 
tieed  by  her  father,  and  had  listened  to  the  last 
verse  of  his  song.  "  Yes,  the  song  is  right,"  she 
said,  enthusiastically.  "  But  I,  father,  have  al- 
ready been  pining  away  for  a  long  time.  The 
first  volunteer  I  saw  was  as  a  dagger  that  pierced 
my  soul,  and  ever  since  I  have  been  ill  and  suffer- 


•  It  is  resolved  In  God's  great  name! 
t"l>,  comrades!  to  the  field  of  fame  1 

This  day  of  glory  save. 
Quickly  and  merrily  to  die 
IB  better  than  the  sick-bed  sigh, 
And  an  unbonored  grave. 

Oar  heart  at  last  resumes  its  life- 
Cur  tongues  now  urge  to  holy  strife ; 

The  broken  chains  we  see. 
When  all  seemed  lost,  a  saving  band 
From  heaven  vouchsafes  to  bless  our  land, 

And  make  us  strong  and  free. 

O  happy  day !    The  sun  new-horn 
Is  dancing  as  on  Easter  morn ! 
Sec,  risen  brothers,  see  ! 

..in.-  fr Min  r-  unbound, 

And  mountains  and  the  vales  resound 
With  songs  of  jubilee. 

lin^'  from  Oppression's  night, 

jbt  I 

rs  of  God.  ari-<  ! 
The  enemy  will  rue  this  day, 

nts  the  prey 
And  onward  quickly  flies. 

To  arms  !   to  horse  !  my  comrade*  brave  1 
And  lot  the  battle-slamlar.l 

For  now  is  honor's  day. 
The  dying  ehout  of  bloody  strife 
It  better  than  the  pining  life 

That  sinks  by  slow  decay. 


ing,  and  in  my  heart  a  voice  has  been  continually 
singing  the  words  I  once  heard  at  the  theatre : 
4 1  wish  to  be  a  man  ! '  " 

"  And  why  do  you  wish  to  be  a  man  ?  "  asked 
her  father,  bowing  his  head,  and  seemingly  de- 
voting his  whole  attention  to  his  work. 

"  Because  a  man  is  allowed  to  do  freely  and 
boldly  what  he  deems  right  and  good,"  replied 
Leonora ;  "  because,  when  the  fatherland  calls 
him,  he  may  step  forth  with  a  bold  front,  and  re- 
ply :  '  Here  I  am  !  To  thee,  my  country,  belongs 
my  arm — my  blood !  For  thee  I  am  ready  to 
fight,  and  if  need  be  to  die ! '  Father,  when  a 
man  talks  thus,  his  words  are  sublime — the 
women  clasp  their  hands  and  listen  devoutly  to 
him,  and  the  children  fall  on  their  knees  and 
pray  for  him.  But  if  a  girl  talk  thus,  it  would 
be  as  mockery ;  the  women  would  deride  their 
heroic  sister,  and  the  children  point  at  and  shout 
after  her,  '  Look  at  the  foolish  girl  who  wants  to 
do  what  is  solely  the  task  of  men  !  Look  at  the 
crazy  one,  who  imagines  she  can  do  men's  work  ! ' 
Her  most  sacred  sentiments,  her  most  patriotic 
desires  and  resolutions,  would  be  mercilessly  ridi- 
culed!" 

"  That  is  the  reason,  my  child,"  said  her 
father,  calmly  laboring  at  hi*  basket,  "  why  she 
should  not  betray  her  sentiments,  and  confide 
her  thoughts  to  God  alone.  Have  you  forgotten 
what  Charles  read  to  us  about  Joan  of  Orleans  ? 
She  left  her  parents  silently  and  secretly,  and 
went  whither  God  called  her." 

"  But  her  father  cursed  and  disowned  her  for 
it,"  said  Leonora,  in  a  tremulous  voice.  "Do 
you  think  her  father  was  right,  merely  because 
she  followed  the  voice  of  God,  and  went  out  to 
deliver  her  king  and  country  ?  " 

u  Xo,"  said  Prohaska,  laying  his  basket  aside 
and  rising,  "  I  do  not ;  I  w,is  always  indignant 
when  that  particular  ]>  i--;i_'.>  was  read  to  us." 

"And  what  would  you,  have  said,  father?" 
asked  Leonora,  in  a  tone  of  profound  emotion. 
•'Imagine  me  to  be  Joan,  the  inspired  maid  of 
Orleans,  and  that  I  say :  '  Father,  I  cannot  re- 
main any  longer  in  this  narrow  dwelling.  The 
voice  of  the  king  and  the  fatherland  has  peoo- 


144 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


trated  my  heart  also,  and  has  called  me.  I  must 
obey  it,  for  I  feel  courageous  and  strong  enough, 
and  it  would  be  cowardly  to  disobey.'  What 
would  you  say  if  I  were  Joan  of  Orleans,  and 
should  talk  thus  to  you? " 

"  I  should  say,  '  Kneel  down,  my  Leonora, 
and  receive  my  last  blessing, '  "  replied  Prohaska, 
straightening  himself  and  approaching  his  daugh- 
ter. 

Leonora  knelt  down,  and,  raising  her  tearful 
eyes  to  her  father,  whispered:  "What  blessing 
would  you  give  me  if  I  were  Joan  of  Orleans  ? 
Oh,  think  I  am  she,  and  give  me  your  blessing ! " 

"  If  you  were  Joan  of  Orleans,"  responded  the 
old  man,  solemnly,  "  and  should  kneel  before  me 
as  you  do  now,  and  ask  my  blessing,  I  should,  as 
I  do  now,  lay  my  hands  on  your  head,  and  say 
to  you:  'God  the  Lord,  who  holds  heaven  and 
earth  in  His  hand,  and  without  whose  will  not  a 
hair  falls  from  our  head,  watch  over  you  and  pro- 
tect you !  May  He  be  with  you  on  the  battle- 
field !  May  He  give  you  a  brave  heart,  a  strong 
arm,  and  a  steady  eye !  May  He  give  you  cour- 
age to  brave  death!  You  have  chosen  men's 
work,  you  have  pledged  your  love  and  your  life 
to  the  fatherland  ;  go,  then,  and  be  a  man ;  love 
your  country  like  a  man,  fight  like  a  man,  and, 
if  need  be,  die  like  a  man ! '  But  when  your 
last  hour  has  come,  my  daughter,  think  of  your 
father,  and  pray  to  God  with  your  last  thoughts 
that  He  may  soon  deliver  me  also,  and  take  me 
away,  for  I  shall  feel  lonely  on  earth  when  you 
are  no  more,  and  even  the  victorious  shouts  of 
the  returning  would  no  longer  gladden  my  old 
soldier's  heart  if  I  find  you  not  among  the  con- 
querors. But,  hush !  let  no  tear  desecrate  this 
sacred  hour  of  our  last  farewell !  God  has  called 
all  strong  and  courageous  hearts — follow  His  call ! 
It  is  incumbent  on  every  one  to  love  his  country 
more  intensely  than  parents,  brothers,  and  sisters. 
Go,  then,  my  daughter;  do  your  duty,  and  re- 
member that  your  father's  blessing  will  be  with 
you  in  life  as  well  as  in  death  !  And  now,  give 
me  a  last  kiss." 

Leonora  rose  from  her  knees,  and,  encircling 
his  neck  with  her  arms,  pressed  a  glowing  kiss  on 


his  lips.  "Father,"  she  said,  looking  at  him  with 
a  beaming  face,  "  my  lips  have  not  yet  kissed  an} 
man's  lips  but  yours,  and  here  I  swear  to  you — 
and  may  God  have  mercy  on  me  at  my  last  hour 
if  I  do  not  keep  my  oath ! — I  swear  to  you  that  I 
shall  kiss  no  man  until  I  am  permitted  to  return 
to  you,  my  father  ! " 

"  I  believe  you,  dear  Leonora,"  said  Prohaska, 
solemnly. 

"  Leonora,  my  child,  it  is  time  now  ! "  exclaimed 
her  mother,  hastily  entering  the  room  !  "  The 
postilion  has  already  passed  our  house,  and  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  the  stage-coach  will  stop  at 
our  door.  I  have  myself  gone  to  the  postmaster, 
and  he  granted  it  as  a  favor  that  the  stage-coach 
should  stop  here,  and  thus  save  you  the  trouble 
of  going  to  the  post-office.  This  will  enable  you 
to  remain  with  us  fifteen  minutes  yet." 

"  But  my  trunk,  mother ;  we  have  to  take  it  to 
the  post-office  ?  "  asked  Leonora. 

"  Oh,  it  would  have  been  too  heavy  for  us," 
said  Mrs.  Prohaska ;  "  Charles  and  two  of  his 
school-mates  are  just  carrying  it  to  the  post-office. 
Leonora's  trunk  is  quite  heavy,  father.  Thark 
God,  she  is  well  provided,  and  for  the  first  year  it 
will  be  quite  unnecessary  for  her  to  buy  ary 
thing." 

"  My  dear  mother  would  indeed  have  packed  up 
all  her  own  things  and  dresses  for  me  if  I  had  not 
prevented  her,"  said  Leonora,  smiling. 

"  I  should  like  best  to  pack  up  my  own  heart 
for  you,  my  dear  child,"  exclaimed  her  mother, 
deeply  moved,  "  but,  as  I  could  not  do  so,  I  put 
my  bridal  dress  into  your  trunk.  It  is  a  nice  silk 
dress,  and  I  have  worn  it  only  three  times  hi  my 
life — on  my  wedding-day,  and  on  the  days  when 
my  two  children  were  baptized ;  it  is  as  good  as 
new.  I  suppose,  husband,  you  will  permit  me  to 
give  it  to  her  ?  " 

"  Of  course,  but  what  is  she  to  do  with  it  ?  " 
asked  Prohaska. 

"  Why,  what  a  question  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Pro 
haska,  "  she  is  to  wear  it,  and  look  pretty  when 
she  goes  to  parties  on  Sundays.  Leonora,  I  sup 
pose  you  will  know  what  to  do  with  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  mother,  I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of 


JOAN  OF  ORLEANS. 


145 


my  heart  for  the  beautiful  present,  and  I  promise 
you  that  I  shall  use  it  only  in  a  noble  and  worthy 
manner,"  said  Leonora,  gravely.  "  My  mother's 
bridal  dress  shall  not  be  worn  for  frivolous  pur- 
poses, but  it  shall  serve  me  to  attain  the  highest 
and  purest  objects." 

"  Oh,  I  know,"  whispered  the  mother,  who  was 
scarcely  able  to  restrain  her  tears,  "  I  know  that 
you  are  an  excellent  girl,  and  a  good  daughter, 
and  that  you  will  never  do  any  thing  of  which 
your  old  parents  would  have  to  be  ashamed.  You 
have  always  been  my  pride  and  joy,  and  never 
would  I  consent  to  part  with  you  unless  every  one 
ha'l  now  to  make  the  greatest  sacrifices  for  the 
king  and  the  fatherland.  But  still  it  is  very 
painful,  and — " 

"  Wife,"  interposed  the  old  sergeant,  "  no  tears 
now  1  When  we  are  alone  we  shall  have  time 
enough  for  weeping.  As  long  as  Leonora  is  here, 
let  us  gaze  at  and  rejoice  in  her. — I  have  to  give 
you  a  commission  yet.  Go  to  my  general,  old 
Blucher,  and  tell  him  he  ought  not  to  be  angry 
with  me — that  he  must  not  believe  me  a  lazy 
ird  because  I  do  not  go  to  the  war.  Tell  him 
that  my  leg  had  to  be  amputated  some  time  after 
battle,  and  that  ho  ought  to  excuse  ray  ab- 

ice  when  the  roll  is  called." 

u  I  will  assuredly  repeat  your  words  to  the  gen- 
father." 

!"  asked  Mrs.  Prohaska,   wonderingly, 

i  General  Blucher  now  at  Berlin  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  her  husband,  carelessly,  "  he  is  at 
lu,  whither  all  the  volunteers  are  marching." 
But   how  is   Leonora,  then,   to  repeat  your 
Is  to  him  ?  "  a.-ked  his  wife,  in  amazement. 

"Father    means    that    I    shall    tell    General 
Ulucher  when   he  comes  to  Berlin  ?  "  said  Leo- 
nora, quickly.      "  They  say    Blucher  will   come 
soon  to  expel  the  French  from  the  capital,  and 
r  thinks  I   mL'ht  then  repeat  tho~e  wo: 

tihouted  (."'  le—lv    into    the 

room.     "The   postilion    has   already    blown    his 

Dugle  for  th"  third  time!" 

':,  then,  my  child,  we  n.  -aid  the 


M  OU,     UIMI, 


old  sergeant,  deeply  moved,  and  clasping  Leonora 
in  his  arms.  "  God  bless  you,  my  daughter !  Your 
father's  thoughts  will  always  be  with  you ! "  He 
disengaged  himself  from  her  arms,  and  pushed  her 
gently  toward  her  mother.  The  two  women  re- 
mained a  long  time  locked  in  each  other's  arms. 
Neither  of  them  said  a  word,  but  their  tears  and 
their  last  look*  were  more  eloquent  than  words. 

"And  you  forget  me?"  asked  Charles,  re- 
proachfully. "  You  do  not  care  to  take  leave  of 
me?" 

Leonora  released  herself  from  her  mother's 
embrace,  and  encircled  her  brother's  neck  with 
her  arms.  "  Farewell,  darling  of  my  heart !  "  she 
cried.  "Be  a  good  son  to  father  and  mother, 
and  remember  that  you  must  henceforth  love 
them  for  both  of  us.  Farewell,  brother,  and 
forgive  me  for  being  born  earlier  than  you,  and 
thus  preventing  your  being  in  my  place.  God 
decreed  it  thus,  putting  us  in  our  own  places,  and. 
we  must  both  fill  them  worthily." 

"Yes,"  said  Charles,  amid  his  tears,  "cer- 
tainly we  will" 

A  carriage  was  rattling  over  the  pavement, 
and  stopped  in  front  of  the  house,  A  bogle 
sounded. 

"Father,  mother,  and  brother,  farewell !"  ex* 
claimed  Leonora.  Then,  raising  her  arms  to 
heaven,  she  added :  "  God  in  heaven,  watch  orer 
them,  and,  if  such  be  Thy  will,  let  me  return 
to  them  ! "  She  hastily  wrapped  herself  in  he? 
cloak,  and,  without  looking  at  them  again,  rushed 
out  of  the  room,  and  jumped  into  the  coach. 

"Farewell,  farewell!"  shouted  father,  mother, 
and  brother,  who  had  followed  her,  and  were 
standing  in  front  of  the  house. 

She  leaned  her  head  out  of  the  coach  window. 
"  Farewell,"  she  exclaimed,  "  and  God—"  The 
bugle  drowned  her  words;  the  carriage  rolled 

The  loving  relatives  gazed  after  it  until  it  had 
ucarcd  around  the  next  corner,  and  then 
returned  sighing  into  the  small  house.  Charles 
hastened  to  hi.s  little  chamber  up-stairs  to  give  vent 
to  his  grief.  The  parents  returned  to  their  sitting 
room.  "  Oh,  how  still  it  is  here  now,  as  still  as  in 


146 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


the  grave,"  sighed  Mrs.  Prohaska,  "  for  I  miss  my 
child,  and  will  miss  her  everywhere.  Oh,  husband, 
my  heart  aches,  and  I  feel  as  though  I  had  lost 
my  Leonora  forever !  Ah,  why  did  we  allow  her  to 
go  ?  Why  did  we  not  keep  her  here,  our  child, 
our  only  daughter  ?  Oh  !  if  she  should  never  re- 
turn, if  she  should  die  !  0  God,  have  mercy  on  a 
poor  mother's  heart — protect  my  dear  child  !  " 
She  sank  down  on  a  chair,  and,  covering  her 
face  with  her  apron,  sobbed  aloud. 

The  old  sergeant  paced  the  room  in  silence. 
He  scarcely  knew  that  the  tears,  like  large  pearls, 
were  running  down  his  cheeks  into  his  gray  beard. 
The  loud  sobs  of  his  wife  aroused  him.  "  Hush, 
wife ;  hush  ! "  he  said,  standing  in  front  of  her. 
"  It  is  too  late  now  for  weeping.  Let  us  rather 
be  glad,  for  Leonora  is  possessed  of  a  brave  heart, 
and  has  done  her  duty  toward  her  country  and 
her  old  invalid  father.  Let  us,  therefore,  be  glad, 
and  sing!"  And  he  commenced  to  sing  in  a 
tremulous  voice,  while  the  tears  were -still  rolling 
from  his  eyes : 

"Ihr  Deutsche  auf  in  Sud  und  NordI 

Hinweg  gemeiner  "Neid ! 
Wir  alle  reden  eine  Sprach1 
Und  stehen  all'  fur  eine  Sach' 
Iin  ehrenvollen  Streit  I 

"  Und  wer  sich  feig  entzieht  dem  Kampf 

Fur  Freiheit  und  fur  Ehr\ 
"Wer  nicht  das  Schwertergreift  zur  Stund  1 
Der  leb'  und  sterb'  als  schlechter  Hund, 
Der  sei  kein  Deutscher  mehr  1 "  * 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

THE   NATIONAL   REPRESENTATIVES. 

LEONORA  PROHASKA   reached  Berlin    at    four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.     On  the  vtay,  closing 

*  Arise,  ye  Germans,  North  and  South  1 

And  honor's  path  pursue. 
Since  all  one  common  language  speak, 
And  all  one  sacred  object  seek, 

Your  jealousies  subdue. 

Let  him  who  shirks  his  country's  call, 

To  freedom  and  to  fame, 
Both  live  and  die  a  cowardly  hound, 
Uesj  ised  wherever  may  be  found 

A  man  of  German  name. 


her  eyes,  she  leaned  back  on  the  cushions,  so  thai 
her  companions  paid  little  attention  to  her,  whom 
they  believed  to  be  asleep.  But  Leonora  heard 
every  word,  and  every  conversation  of  her  fellow- 
travellers  strengthened  her  soul  and  restored  her 
former  courage.  They  spoke  of  the  enthusiasm 
in  every  city,  village,  and  house — an  enthusiasm 
spreading  far  beyond  the  frontiers  of  Prussia,  and 
carrying  all  away  as  an  irresistible  torrent,  draw- 
ing with  it  even  the  most  cautious  and  timid,  and 
filling  the  most  desponding  and  disheartened  with 
joyous  hopes.  One  of  the  travellers  was  just  re- 
turning from  Breslau,  and  dwelt  with  impassioned 
eloquence  on  the  bustle  prevailing  there ;  on  the 
volunteers  who  were  flocking  in  vast  numbers  to 
that  city  and  parading  every  day  under  the  king's 
windows ;  and  on  brave  Major  von  Liitzow,  who, 
with  his  beautiful  young  wife,  had  come  to  Bres- 
lau,  and  was  endeavoring  to  live  at  a  miserable 
tavern,  because  no  other  accommodations  were 
to  be  bad. 

"And  in  the  bar-room,"  he  said,  "beautiful 
Madame  von  Liitzow  receives  the  names  of  the 
volunteers  who  wish  to  enlist  in  the  Legion  of 
Vengeance.  Her  husband  is  busily  engaged,  from 
dawn  till  late  at  night,  in  organizing  his  corps ; 
in  trying  to  procure  arms,  horses,  and  equipme  its 
for  his  men,  and  his  handsome  wife  is  his  recruiting 
officer.  She  is  as  charming  as  an  angel,  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  wealthy  count,  and  has,  by  her  marriage 
with  Major  von  Liitzow,  contrary  to  her  parents' 
wishes,  so  much  exasperated  her  proud  fataer 
that  he  gave  her  no  dower,  but,  imposed  it  as  a 
condition  of  his  consent  that  Major  von  Liitzow 
should  marry  without  any.  But  the  count's 
daughter  joyously  descended  from  the  proud  cas- 
tle to  the  humble  dwelling  of  the  Prussian  major, 
whom  she  loved  on  account  of  his  bravery,  and 
the  scars  which  he  bore  on  his  forehead,  and 
which  he  had  received  in  1806,  in  the  war  against 
the  French." 

"  I  know  the  lady,"  said  the  second  traveller ; 
"she  is  a  daughter  of  the  Danish  Count  von 
Ahlefeldt,  a  wonder  of  loveliness,  grace,  and  re- 
fined manners.  She  hates  the  French  as  intensely 
as  her  husband,  and  it  was  precisely  this  com- 


TIIE   NATIONAL    REPRESENTATIVES. 


147 


won  hatred  of  the  French   that   brought   them 
together." 

"How  so?"  asked  the  other.  "Pray  tell  us 
all  about  it." 

"Several  years  ago,  the  young  countess,  at- 
tended by  her  governess,  made  a  journey  to  a 
fashionable  German  watering-place.  Both  took 
dinner  at  the  table  d'hote  of  the  'Kurhaus,' 
where  a  crowd  of  persons  from  all  countries  were 
assembled.  The  neighbor  of  the  young  countess 
at  the  table  happened  to  be  a  French  officer,  who 
managed  to  involve  the  young  lady  in  a  highly 
animated  and  interesting  conversation.  He  told 
her  in  a  very  attractive  manner  of  his  campaigns 
and  travels,  and  the  young  countess  listened  to 
him  with  pleasure  and  manifested  her  sympathy 
for  him.  The  Frenchman  dared  to  seize  her  hand 
and  kiss  it.  The  young  countess  started ;  a  deep 
blush  suffused  her  fair  face,  and,  without  reflect- 
ing, obeying  only  her  first  impulse,  she  took  a 
glass  of  water  which  stood  before  her,  and  poured 
it  over  the  hand  which  the  Frenchman  had  dared 
to  kiss.  Several  Prussian  officers,  seated  near 
her  had  witnessed  the  occurrence,  and,  on  notic- 
ing how  she  removed  the  stain  of  the  French  kiss 
from  her  hand,  could  not  refrain  from  bursting 
into  a  loud  cheer.  One  of  them  was  Major  von 
Liitzow.  After  dinner  he  approached  the  count- 
ess, was  introduced  to  her  by  a  mutual  acquaint- 
ance, and  expressed  his  ardent  thanks,  in  the 
name  of  all  Germans,  for  the  bold  rebuke  she  had 
administered  to  the  Frenchman.  That  was  the 
beginning  of  her  acquaintance  with  Major  von 
Liitzow,  and  the  end  of  it  was  her  marriage  with 
him.  *  She  is  now  at  Breslau,  and  you  have 
ween  her." 

"Yes,  for  I  went  to  the  major's  headqu;. 
a  friend  who  wished  to  enlist  in  his  corps. 

e  met  there,  however,  only  herself.     She  re- 

un-lcr   IKT 

unl  with  so  much  gra  !i  a  look  of 

jov— >!j-  .i\v,-lt  in  such  soul-nin  <,\\  the 

•  I  am  Indebted  for  an  account  of  this  occurrence  to 

rmtess  Ahlefeldt  (f.rtmrly  Madame  M::J<T  von 
)  herself,  who  related  It  to  me  with  charming 
and  gr.ce.-L.  M 


great  and  holy  national  war  about  to  break  out, 
and  in  which  every  one  ought  to  participate, 
that  I  was  quite  fascinated  by  her  eloquence,  and 
would  have  enlisted  at  once  if  I  had  not  already 
entered  a  landwehr  regiment." 

Not  a  word  of  this  conversation  escaped  Leo- 
nora, and  she  said  to  herself:  "  I  must  make  the 
acquaintance  of  this  lady.  I  will  go  to  her,  and 
she  will  enlist  me  for  the  German  fatherland  ! " 

The  travellers  continued  their  conversation,  re- 
lating that  Frederick  William  had  not  believed  in 
the  success  of  the  first  manifesto,  in  which  he 
called  for  volunteers ;  and,  for  this  reason,  had 
not  signed  the  manifesto  which  Chancellor  von 
Hardenberg  had  drawn  up  ;  that  four  days  after- 
ward the  king,  who  had  just  explained  with  un- 
usual vehemence  to  General  Scharnhorst  the 
utter  uselessness  of  this  call,  was  interrupted  by 
a  strange  noise  in  the  street ;  and  that,  anxious 
to  discover  what  was  the  cause,  he  stepped  to  the 
window,  and  General  Scharnhorst  followed  him ; 
that  a  line  of  at  least  eighty  wagons  had  come  in 
sight,  and  in  them  none  but  armed  men  wert 
seated,  who  halted  in  front  of  the  palace,  and  an 
aide-de-camp,  who  entered  the  room  at  that  mo- 
ment, informed  the  king  that  they  were  volun- 
teers just  arrived  from  Berlin ;  that  Scbarnhorst  • 
turned  to  him,  and  exclaimed  triumphantly : 
"  Will  \<>\ir  majesty  be  convinced  now  that  your 
people  are  ready  to  fight  for  you  and  the  father- 
land ? "  and  that  the  king  made  no  reply,  but 
a  flood  of  tears  rushed  from  his  eyes,  and  he 
smiled  amidst  his  emotion. 

At  length  Leonora  arrived  at  Berlin.  She  stood 
alone  beside  her  trunk  in  the  court-yard  of  the 
royal  post-office  building.  No  notice  was  taken 
of  her ;  no  one  manifested  any  sympathy  for  her ; 
but  she  did  not  flinch,  and  her  heart  was  free 
from  doubt  or  anxiety.  She  sent  for  a  hackney- 
coach  by  one  of  the  boys  playing  in  the  court- 
yard, and  then  drove  away.  But  she  did  not 
;he  coachman  to  convey  her  to  her  god- 
father, Werkmeistcr,  the  merchant  on  Jager 
Street.  Driving  first  to  Tauben  Street,  the  car- 
riage stopped  in  front  of  a  large,  gloomy  house. 
She  alighted,  and,  begging  the  coachman  to  wait 


148 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


for  her,  slipped  into  the  house.  Quickly  ascend- 
ing three  narrow  flights  of  stairs,  she  reached 
a  silent  corridor,  on  both  sides  of  which  were 
small  doors,  and  on  each  a  number  had  been 
painted.  Knocking  at  the  door  of  number  three, 
a  female  voice  inquired,  "  Who  is  there  ?  " 

"  It  is  I,  Leonora  Prohaska ! " 

A  loud  cry  of  joy  resounded ;  the  door  was 
hastily  opened,  and  a  young  soldier  in  full  uni- 
form appeared  on  the  threshold.  It  was  now 
Leonora  who  uttered  a  cry,  and  blushing  drew 
back.  "  Pardon  me,"  she  said,  timidly ;  "  there 
must  be  a  mistake.  I  am  looking  for  my  friend, 
a  young  milliner,  named  Caroline  Peters." 

The  young  soldier  laughed,  but  it  was  the 
fresh,  ringing  laughter  of  a  girl.  "Then  you 
really  do  not  recognize  me,  Leonora  ? "  he  ex- 
claimed. "You  really  take  me  for  what  I  like  to 
be  and  am  not — a  man  ?  " 

"  Great  Heaven  !  is  it  you  f "  exclaimed  Leo- 
nora. "  You— " 

"  Hush  ! "  whispered  the  other,  hastily  drawing 
her  into  the  room,  and  carefully  locking  the  door. 
"  For  mercy's  sake,  let  no  one  hear  us  !  What  a 
scandal  it  would  be,  if  it  should  be  discovered 
that  Yoluntee*  Charles  Petersen  receives  the 
visits  of  pretty  girls  at  his  room !  This  hotel  is 
entirely  occupied  by  volunteers,  and  none  of  them 
suspect  that  I  am  a  woman,  nor  shall  they  ever 
find  it  out.  But  now  welcome,  my  dear  Leonora, 
and  tell  me  what  has  brought  you  to  Berlin.  Did 
you  receive  my  letter  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Caroline,  I  did,"  said  Leonora,  gravely, 
"  and  it  gave  me  pain,  for  you  called  me  cowardly 
and  destitute  of  honor,  because  I  intended  to  stay 
at  home  when  my  country  was  m  need  of  the 
arms  of  all  its  children,  and  when  every  one  of 
any  courage  was  participating  in  this  holy  strug- 
gle." 

"  And  that  is  the  truth,  Leonora,"  exclaimed 
Caroline ;  "  the  fatherland  has  called  us  all,  and 
those  who  do  not  listen  to  this  call  are  cowards  f " 

"But  who  told  you  that  I  did  not  listen  to 
H  ?  "  asked  Leonora. 

"  What ! "  ejaculated  Caroline,  joyously.  "  Leo- 
nora, you,  too—" 


"Hush!"  interrupted  Leonora,  "  we  must  talk 
about  all  this  afterward.  I  am  in  haste  now, 
for  there  is  a  hackney-coach  waiting  for  me 
at  the  door,  and  my  trunk  is  on  it.  Tell  me 
now  quickly,  Caroline,  can  I  stay  with  you  over- 
night ?  " 

"  In  female  dress,  Leonora  ?  That  would  be 
hardly  prudent." 

"  No,  in  male  attire,  Caroline." 

"  Oh,  then  you  are  a  thousand  times  welcome 
here,"  exclaimed  Caroline,  encircling  her  with 
her  arms,  and  drawing  her  to  her  heart. 

"  But  I  have  not  yet  my  male  attire,"  said  Leo- 
nora, smiling,  "  nor  have  I  money  to  buy  it.  Give 
me,  therefore,  quickly,  the  name  of  seme  one  who 
buys  dresses,  for  I  will  drive  to  him  immediately 
with  my  trunk,  and  sell  all  I  have  brought  with 
me." 

"  Come,  Leonora,  I  will  accompany  you,"  said 
Caroline.  "  I  know  at  the  Hospital  Bridge  a  very 
patriotic  and  kind-hearted  old  Jew,  to  whom  I 
have  also  sold  my  wearing  apparel,  and  who  paid 
me  a  very  liberal  price  for  it,  when  I  told  hina 
that  I  wanted  to  buy  a  uniform  for  my  brother. 
Let  us  drive  there,  but  I  will  remain  in  the  cr.r> 
riage  while  you  go  into  the  store,  for  be  might 
recognize  me.  You  will  also  find  men's  clothirg, 
which  you  may  purchase  for  your  brother — that 
is  to  say,  for  yourself." 

"  Come,  then,  and  let  us  make  haste,"  said 
Leonora,  drawing  her  friend  with  her. 

Fifteen  minutes  afterward  the  hackney-coach 
halted  in  front  of  one  of  the  second-band  cloth- 
ing-stores near  the  Hospital  Bridge,  and  Leonora 
alighted,  holding  in  her  arms  a  large  package  of 
dresses,  shawls,  skirts,  and  aprons,  which  she  had 
taken  from  her  trunk  during  the  drive.  Mr. 
Hirsch,  the  dealer  in  second-hand  clothing,  who 
was  standing  in  front  of  his  store,  received  her 
with  a  pleasant  greeting,  and  invited  her  to  enter 
and  tell  him  what  she  wanted. 

Leonora  put  the  wearing  apparel  on  the  coun- 
ter, and,  drawing  a  deep  breath,  said  in  a  tone  of 
embarrassment,  "  I  should  like  to  sell  those 
things,  sir." 

The  Jew  put  his  spectacles  slowly  on  his  nose* 


Th  •  ,Tt-«  put  hiK  r-p.Ttarl.-H  -lowly  ,,n  hi-  IK-P.  and  th.-ti  lift.- 1  uj)  the  dresses,  one  an.-r  anoilipr. 

contemplating  them  with  scnitinizinir  planc^w.  p  149 


THE   NATIONAL    REPRESENTATIVES. 


149 


and  then  lifted  up  the  dresses,  one  after  another, 
contemplating  them  with  scrutinizing  glances. 

"  If  he  should  not  give  me  as  much  money  as  I 
need  ?  "  Leonora  asked  herself,  anxiously — "  if 
these  things  should  not  amount  to  so  much  that  I 
cannot  purchase  a  uniform  ?  " 

And  old  Ilirsch,  as  if  he  heard  the  anxious 
question  of  her  heart,  said,  shaking  his  head  :  "  I 
cannot  give  very  much  for  these  few  calico  dresses 
ind  aprons.  They  are  all  very  nice  and  well  pre- 
served, but  of  no  value  whatever." 

"  But  there  is  also  a  silk  dress,  sir,"  said  Leo- 
nora, in  a  tremulous  voice — "  an  entirely  new  silk 
dress." 

"  New  ?  "  asked  the  Jew,  shrugging  his  shoul- 
ders, drawing  out  the  dress,  and  unfolding  it  with 
a  sneer.  "  The  dress  is  not  new,  for  it  is  made 
after  such  an  old  fashion  that  it  could  be  worn 
only  at  a  masked  ball ;  and  the  stuff  is  not  worth 
any  thing,  either,  for  it  is  only  half  silk.  It  was 
just  made  to  look  at.  It  appears  like  heavy  silk, 
jut  the  oblique  threads  that  make  it  look  so 
leavy  are  all  cotton.  How  much  do  you  want 
for  the  whole,  my  pretty  miss  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  Leonora,  in  a  low  voice, 
"  as  much  as  you  can  give  me  for  it." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  grumbled  the  old  man,  "  I  am  to 
give  a  great  deal  of  money  for  very  poor  goods  ; 
that  is  what  they  all  ask  me  to  do.  I  will  tell 
you,  I  cannot  give  you  more  than  twelve  dollars 
for  the  whole  lot." 

"  Twelve  dollars  !  "   ejaculated   Leonora,  with 
such  an  expression  of  dismay  that  the  Jew  started, 
:ig  his  green  spectacles  to  his  forehead,  and 
ng  his  small,  twinkling  eyes  on  Leonora. 

"  Twelve  dollars  ! "  repeated  Leonora,  and,  no 
longer  able  to  restrain  her  tear?,  she  wrung  her 
ds,  and  muttered :  "  It  is  all  in  vain,  then ! 
ve  dollars  are  not  sufficient  to  buy  a  uniform 
arms." 

rsch  heard  her  words.     "  What  ?  "  he  a«ked, 
ily.     "  You  want  to  sell  the  dresses  in  order 

buy  a  uniform  and  arms  ?  ' 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  Leonoia,  "my  mother  and 
anted  to  sell  our  dresses,  because  we  hoped 
would  get  money  enough  to  buy  my  brother  a 


'-: 

!,.„ 


complete  uniform — a  rifle,  sword,  and  shako;  for 
my  brother  intends  to  enlist  in  Liitzow's  corps  of 
riflemen." 

"  Your  brother  intends  to  enlist  in  Liitzow's 
corps  of  riflemen?"  asked  Hirscli,  quickly.  "  Is 
that  no  pretext,  eh?  Do  you  not  tell  me  so 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  extorting  money  from 
me  ?  Can  you  swear  to  me  that  that  is  why  you 
wish  to  sell  the  dresses  ?  " 

"  I  can  swear  it  by  the  great  God  in  heaven,  in 
whom  we  all  believe,"  said  Leonora,  solemnly. 
"  But  I  can  prove  it  to  you,  too." 

"  How  so  ?     In  what  way  ?  " 

"  By  buying  a  uniform  for  my  brother  here  at 
your  store.  He  is  of  the  same  height  as  I  am, 
and  has  precisely  the  same  figure :  we  are  twins." 

"And  your  brother  intends  to  enlist  in  Liit- 
zow'd  corps  ?  Why  did  he  not  himself  come  to 
select- a  uniform  ?  " 

"  He  is  at  Potsdam,  sir,  and  does  not  know  that 
I  am  here.  To-morrow  is  his  birthday,  and  we 
want  to  surprise  him  by  giving  him  his  uniform 
to-morrow." 

"  And  he  shall  have  it  I  "  exclaimed  the  Jew ; 
"  yes,  he  shall  have  it !  I  read  in  your  eyes  that 
you  have  told  me  the  truth,  my  child,  and  that 
you  do  not  want  the  money  for  frivolous  pur- 
poses, but  for  the  great  cause  of  the  German 
fatherland.  I  have  also  a  heart  for  my  country, 
and  no  one  shall  say  that  we  Israelites  do  not  feel 
and  act  like  true  Germans — that  our  hearts  did 
not  suffer  under  the  disgrace  which,  for  long  years, 
has  weighed  down  all  Germany,  and  that  we  will 
not  joyfully  sacrifice  our  blood  and  our  life ;  and, 
what  is  still  more,  our  property,  for  the  sake  of 
the  fatherland.  Who  was  the  first  man  at  Berlin 
to  make  a  voluntary  contribution  to  this  object  ? 
It  was  a  Jew  !  The  president  of  the  Jewish  con- 
gregation, M.  Gumpert,  made  the  first  patriotic 
contribution.  He  sent  three  hundred  dollars  to 
the  military  commission,  with  the  request  that 
this  amount  might  be  spent  for  buying  eq  lip 
ments  for  poor  volunteers.*  Our  Gumpert  was 
ihe  first  man  who  made  a  sacrifice  for  the  benefit 

*  Historical 


150 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


of  the  fatherland,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  be  the 
last.  I  made  a  mistake  in  appraising  your  things ; 
I  will  do  it  over  again,  and  what  I  can  give  I  will 
give."  He  glanced  again  at  the  dresses;  then, 
shaking  his  head,  and  stroking  the  silk  dress  with 
his  long,  lean  hand,  he  said,  "  How  could  I  make 
such  a  mistake,  and  believe  this  stuff  to  be  only 
half  silk  ?  It  is  all  silk,  heavy  silk — and  two 
dresses  of  the  now  fashionable  tight  cut  can  ea- 
sily be  made  out  of  this  splendid  one.  For  this 
alone  I  will  give  you  twenty  dollars,  and  as  for 
the  other  things,  well,  I  will  give  you  twenty  dol- 
lars more." 

"Oh,"  exclaimed  Leonora,  radiant  with  joy, 
and  giving  both  her  hands  to  the  old  Jew — "  oh, 
you  are  a  noble,  generous  man,  a  true  patriot !  I 
thank  you,  and  may  the  delivered  land  some  day 
reward  you ! " 

"Ah,  poor  Hirsch  cannot  deserve  great  re- 
wards at  the  hands  of  the  fatherland,"  said  the 
old  man,  sighing.  "  I  am  poor,  I  have  not  even 
a  son  whom  I  might  give  to  the  country,  and  in- 
trust with  the  task  of  avenging  me.  I  had  a  son, 
a  good,  dear  boy ;  but,  in  1807,  when  the  French 
arrived  here,  he  wished  to  defend  our  property 
against  the  soldiers  who  broke  into  our  house  ;  he 
grew  very  angry  with  the  infamous  ruffians,  and 
called  them  and  their  emperor  murderers  and  rob- 
bers. Thereupon  they  mortally  stabbed  him — 
they  killed  him  before  my  own  eyes !  He  was  my 
only  child,  my  only  joy  cm  earth  !  But,  hush  !  this 
is  no  time  for  lamentations.  I  will  rejoice — yes, 
rejoice,  for  the  hour  of  vengeance  has  come,  and 
we  will  pay  the  French  for  what  wrongs  they 
have  inflicted  on  us.  If  I  were  not  so  old  and 
feeble,  I  should  myself  willingly  fight,  but  now 
I  am  only  able  to  assist  in  equipping  soldiers. 
Your  brother  shall  become  a  soldier,  my  child ; 
we  will  equip  him  for  the  Legion  of  Vengeance. 
He  shall  avenge  my  son,  my  innocent,  beloved 
son,  upon  Napoleon  the  tyrant,  and  the  French 
rabble,  who  have  trampled  us  under  foot  so  long 
and  so  disgracefully.  Yes,  yes,  I  will  give  you 
forty  dollars  for  your  things,  but  I  will  not  give 
you  the  whole  amount  in  cash.  Look  at  this 
black  uniform  ;  it  is  quite  new,  the  tailor  delivered 


it  only  yesterday.     Did  not  you  tell  me  that  yotu 
brother  is  of  the  same  stature  as  you  are  ?  " 

*'  Of  the  same  stature  and  figure,  for  he  is  my 
twin-brother." 

"  Well,  let  us  see  if  this  uniform  fits  you." 

Mr.  Hirsch  took  out  his  tape-line,  and  measured 
Leonora's  figure  with  the  skill  of  an  experienced 
tailor.  He  then  applied  the  tape-line  to  the 
trousers  and  the  coat  of  black  cloth.  "  It  fits 
splendidly,"  he  exclaimed.  "  And  here  is  also  a 
nice  silk  vest  that  belongs  to  it.  Now,  listen  to 
me !  I  charge  you  twelve  dollars  for  the  whole 
suit ;  you  will,  therefore,  receive  twenty-eight  dol- 
lars in  money.  Now  you  will,  in  the  first  place, 
buy  your  brother  a  fine  rifle,  such  as  Liitzow's  rifle- 
men need.  You  will  pay  ten  dollars  for  it ;  be- 
sides a  sword  and  a  shako,  which  will  cost  to- 
gether five  dollars.  You  will  then  have  thirteen 
dollars  left.  For  this  amount  you  will  put  a  pair 
of  good  shirts  and  a  new  pair  of  boots  into  your 
brother's  knapsack,  and  the  remainder  you  will 
give  him  for  pocket-money.  Is  it  to  be  so  ?  Is  d 
bargain  struck  ?  " 

"  Yes,  the  bargain  is  struck." 

"Very  well.  Here'  is  your  uniform,  and  here 
are  the  twenty-eight  dollars."  He  counted  the 
shining  dollars  on  the  counter,  and  then  pushed 
the  money  and  the  clothing  toward  Leonora. 
"  Here  is  our  Liitzow's  rifleman's  uniform,"  he  ex- 
claimed. 

"And  here  are  the  dresses,  sir,"  said  Leonora, 
handing  the  wearing  apparel  to  the  old  man,  but, 
while  doing  so,  she  quickly  bent  over  it,  and 
pressed  a  kiss  en  the  silk  dress. 

Old  Hirsch  looked  at  her  with  amazement. 

"  It  is  my  mother's  bridal  dress,  sir,"  said  Leo- 
nora, as  if  apologetically.  "  It  was  our  greatest 
treasure,  and  I  gave  it  only  a  farewell  kiss." 

The  Jew  looked  down  musingly.  "  Listen,  my 
child,"  he  said ;  "  I  must  not  sell  this  dress.  I 
shall  keep  it  until  the  war  is  over.  If  your 
brother  gets  safely  back,  you  may  bring  him  here, 
and,  as  a  greeting  of  welcome,  I  will  present  your 
mother's  bridal  dress  to  him.  But  in  return,  be 
must  do  me  a  favor." 

"  What  favor  ?  " 


THE  NATIONAL  REPRESENTATIVES. 


151 


"  Whenever  he  cuts  down  a  Frencnman,  ne  is 
to  shout,  '  Moses  Hirsch  is  avenged  t '  Moses  was 
the  name  of  my  dear,  unfortunate  son,  and  I 
think  he  will  sleep  more  calmly  in  his  grave  when 
he  hears  that  his  father  has  sent  out  an  avenger 
of  his  death.  Will  you  promise  me,  in  your 
brother's  name,  that  he  will  not  forget  to  shout 
what  I  tell  you  ?  " 

"  I  promise  it !  Whenever  my  brother  cuts 
down  a  Frenchman,  he  will  shout,  '  Moses  Hirsch 
is  avenged  ! '  " 

"Thank  you!"  said  Hir^ch,  greatly  moved. 
"My  son  will  hear  it,  and  he  will  smile  down 
from  heaven  on  his  old,  lonely  father.  And  now, 
my  dear,  beautiful  child,  good-by  1  Give  me  the 
package ;  I  will  take  it  for  you  to  the  carriage ! " 

"  No,  no,  give  it  back  to  me,"  exclaimed  Leo- 
nora, anxiously. 

But  the  old  man  did  not  listen  to  her.  He 
took  the  package,  and  hastened  with  it  out  of 
his  store  to  the  hackney-coach.  Charles  Peter- 
sen,  at  this  moment,  looked  impatiently  out  of 
the  window,  and  shouted  to  her  friend  to  make 
haste. 

Old  Hirsch  uttered  a  cry  and  stared  at  Caro- 
ne.     "  Great  Heaven  ! "  he  exclaimed,  "  you  in 

iform — you  a  volunteer  ?  " 

"  Ah,"  said  Caroline,  concealing  her  confusion 
by  loud  laughter,  "I  see  what  astonishes  you. 
You  confound  me  with  my  sister.  I  know  she 
sold  her  dresses  to  you  to  buy  a  uniform  and 
arms  for  me.  Yes,  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  us, 
for  we  greatly  resemble  each  other.  The  reason 
we  are  twi 

"  He  has  a  twin-sister  as  you  have  a  twin- 
brother,"  said  Hirsch,  turning  to  Leonora  with  a 
strange  smile.  "  Hush  !  I  understand  it  all  now. 
Jod  protect  the  courageous  twins !  Coachman, 
I" 

"  Whither  ?  "  asked  the  coachman. 

"  T.)  M.  Wrrkim-Uter's  house,  23  Jager  Street," 
led  Leonora,  nodding  a  last  greeting  to  the  old 
.     The  carriage  wheeled  away. 
What  do  you  want  at  M.  Werkmeister's?" 
isked  Caroline. 

"  To  pay  him  my  last  visit  as  a  girl,"  said  Leo- 


K", 
unif, 


nora.  "  Returning  from  his  bouse,  I  shall  divest 
myself  of  my  female  costume  and  become  yout 
comrade.  Let  us  then  go  out  together  and  Imv 
my  arms." 

;i  But  would  it  not  be  better  for  me  to  drive 
back  to  our  hotel  while  you  are  Werkmeister's  ?  " 
asked  Caroline.  "You  have  had  the  hackney- 
coach  already  above  an  hour,  and  we  volunteers 
must  be  as  economical  as  possible  in  order  to 
support  ourselves  as  long  as  we  can,  and  not  be- 
come a  burden  to  the  state." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Leonora.  "  I  will  alight 
here,  and  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  take  my  trunk 
and  the  package  to  your  quarters."  The  hack- 
ney-coach halted,  and  Leonora,  wrapping  herself 
in  her  shawl,  leaped  out  of  the  carriage.  "  Drive 
back  to  Tauben  Street,  now,"  she  said,  "and 
assist  the  gentleman  in  carrying  this  trunk  up  to 
his  room.  But  previously  I  will  pay  you  the 
whole  fare.  How  much  do  I  owe  you  ?  " 

"From  the  post-office  to  Tauben  Street,  four 
groschen,"  said  the  coachman,  composedly. 

"And  besides?" 

"  Nothing  else." 

"  How  so— nothing  else  ?  You  waited  a  good 
while  in  Tauben  Street;  we  then  drove  hither, 
where  you  waited  a  long  while  again,  and  now 
you  are  about  to  return  to  Tauben  Street." 

"Yes;  but  in  Tauben  Street  we  took  in  a  vol- 
unteer," said  the  coachman,  whipping  his  horses 
in  a  gentle,  caressing  manner.  "We  hackmen 
never  take  any  money  for  driving  a  volunteer. 
Every  one  must  do  as  much  for  the  fatherland 
as  he  can.  You  owe  me,  therefore,  only  four 
groschen." 

"Here  they  are,"  said  Leonora,  binding  the 
money  to  the  hackman,  "and  we  are  much 
obliged  to  you." 

"  Oh,  you  are  not  obliged  to  me  at  all,"  said 
the  hackman,  "for  you  see  I  do  not  drive  girls 
for  nothing — only  volunteers." 

"To-morrow  he  wjll  drive  me,  too,  for  noth- 
ing,'1 sai'l  Leonora,  gazing  after  the  hackney- 
coach.  "  To-morrow  I  will  no  longer  be  a  girl ! 
For  I  am  going  now  to  bid  a  last  adieu  to  my 
outward  maidenhood  and  my  past ! "  And  she 


152 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


talked  with  resolute  steps  across  the  Gendarmes 
Market  toward  Jager  Street. 

"  I  must  tell  my  dear  godfather  that  I  cannot 
accept  his  offer,"  she  said  to  herself;  "  for,  if  I 
should  not,  he  might  perhaps  write  another  letter 
to  me  to  Potsdam,  and  mother  would  then  learn 
prematurely  that  I  told  her  a  falsehood,  and  am 
not  now  at  my  godfather's  house ;  but  when  he 
knows  that  I  cannot  come,  he  will  not  write 
again,  and  no  one  will  discover  my  plans." 

There  was  an  unusual  throng  to-day  in  front 
of  the  house  No.  23  on  Jager  Street,  where  Werk- 
meister  the  merchant  lived.  It  was  not  without 
difficulty  that  Leonora  penetrated  through  the 
crowd  to  the  door,  where  was  to  be  seen  a  large 
placard,  containing  the  following  words :  "  Gold 
wedding-rings  exchanged  for  iron  ones  here.'1'' 
Somewhat  astonished  at  this  strange  inscription, 
Leonora  entered  the  house,  and  stepped  across 
the  hall  to  the  open  door  of  her  godfather's  sit- 
ting-room. 

M.  Kudolph  Werkmeister,  without  looking  at- 
tentively at  her,  presented  her  a  small  box  con- 
taining a  large  number  of  glittering  rings. 
"Please  select  one  of  these,  and  drop  the  gold 
ring  into  the  aperture  of  the  locked  box,"  he 
said. 

Leonora  looked  at  him  smilingly.  "It  is  I, 
godfather,"  she  said,  offering  him  her  hand. 

"  Ah,  it  is  you,  Leonora  Prohaska,"  exclaimed 
M.  Werkmeister,  putting  down  the  box.  "You 
have  received  my  letter,  then,  my  child  ?  You 
have  at  length  made  up  your  mind  to  comply 
with  my  wishes — to  come  to  my  house,  and  to 
assist  my  wife  at  the  store  and  in  the  household  ? 
Well,  you  could  not  have  come  at  a  better  hour, 
and  I  thank  you  for  your  kindness." 

Leonora  fixed  her  large  dark  eyes  with  an  af- 
fectionate expression  on  the  good-natured,  pleas- 
ant face  of  the  merchant,  and  stepping  up  to  him 
laid  both  her  hands  on  his  shoulders.  "God- 
father, dear  godfather,"  she  said,  greatly  moved, 
"  do  not  be  angry  with  me,  and  forgive  me  for 
coming  only  to  tell  you  I  cannot  accept  your 
offer.  Do  not  ask  me  why  I  cannot.  I  am  not 
allowed  to  tell  yoi  the  reason,  but  I  know  that, 


when  you  learn  it  some  day,  you  will  certainly 
approve  what  I  have  done.  I  really  am  no  ua« 
grateful  girl,  but  I  cannot  come  to  you,  dear  51. 
Werkmeister.  I  have  greater  and  holier  duties 
to  fulfil — duties  to  which  God  Himself  has  called 
me!" 

"  That  is  to  say,  my  child,  you  do  not  wish  to 
leave  your  poor  old  parents  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Werk- 
meister, in  great  emotion.  "  You  will  stay  with 
them  at  their  small  house  and  eat  the  invalid's 
brown  bread  rather  than  live  luxuriously  at  the 
beautiful  capital  of  Prussia  ?  You  are  right,  per- 
haps, my  child.  You  are  the  only  joy  of  your 
parents,  and  I  was  selfish,  perhaps,  in  trying  to 
rob  them  of  you.  But,  in  doing  so,  I  thought 
more  of  yourself,  and  desired  to  give  a  better  and 
brighter  sphere  to  your  youth.  But  we  must  all 
pursue  the  paths  which  God  and  our  conscience 
have  marked  out  for  us." 

"  Yes,"  exclaimed  Leonora,  enthusiastically, 
"  you  are  right.  Let  me,  therefore,  pursue  my 
own  path,  and  may  Heaven  accompany  me !  Yon 
are  not  angry  with  me,  then,  godfather  ?  You 
really  are  not  ?  No  ?  Now  give  me  your  han  1, 
godfather,  and  let  me  take  leave  of  you  with  an 
affectionate  kiss  ! "  She  threw  her  arms  roue  d 
the  old  man's  neck,  and  kissed  him  tenderly. 

"  But  you  do  not  intend  to  leave  immediate- 
ly ?  "  asked  M.  Werkmeister,  surprised.  "  You 
have  not  even  seen  my  sick  wife,  and  talk  already 
of  taking  leave  ?  " 

"  Ah,  I  must  go.  I  have  still  much  to  attend 
to,  and  must  leave  Berlin  to-night.  But,  tell  me 
one  thing  !  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  inscrip- 
tion at  your  door,  and  why  is  there  such  a  crowd 
in  front  of  your  house  ?  " 

"  They  are  reading  the  placard  which  I  have 
hung  out,"  said  M.  Werkmeister — "  the  request 
which  I  addressed  to  all  patriots." 

"  And  what  do  you  request  of  them  to  do,  god- 
father ?  " 

"  I  request  all  families,  and  especially  all  wives 
and  affianced  brides,  to  bring  their  gold  wedding- 
rings  to  me  and  receive  iron  ones  in  return ;  and 
in  commemoration  of  these  times,  I  have  had 
ten  thousand  iron  rings  made,  and  the  royal  au 


THE  NATIONAL   REPRESENTATIVES. 


153 


Itionties  approved  my  scheme  and  intrusted  me 
with  the  collection  of  the  gold  ones.  My  request 
was  published  in  the  papers  of  this  rooming,  and 
already  more  than  thirty  gold  rings  have  been  ex- 
changed. Look,  here  are  the  iron  ones.  They 
are  very  neat,  are  they  not? — the  exact  shape 
of  genuine  we<1  ding-rings ;  only  in  place  of  the 
names,  the  inside  contains  the  words,  '/  gave 
gold  for  iron,  1813.'  Read  !  " 

"  Oh,  that  is  a  very  beautiful  idea,"  exclaimed 
Leonora,  contemplating  the  ring  which  he  had 
handed  her.  u  Such  a  memento  will  henceforth 
be  the  most  precious  ornament  of  nil  wives,  and 
no  gold  will  shine  so  brilliantly  and  be  so  valu- 
able as  these  iron  rings  with  which  our  women 
pledge  their  love  to  their  native  land.  Ah,  dear 
godfather,  I  would  like  to  ask  a  favor  of  you.  I 
am  no  wife,  nor  am  I  an  affianced  bride,  and  I 
have,  therefore,  no  wedding-ring  to  give  you.  I 
have  nothing  but  my  heart,  and  in  this  heart 
there  is  no  other  love  than  that  of  country.  Let 
me,  therefore,  offer  it  to  the  fatherland  instead 
of  gold,  and  give  me  for  it  an  iron  ring  with 
the  beautiful  inscription  :  '  /  gave  gold  for  iron, 
13.'  " 

"  There  is  a  ring,  my  child  ;  your  heart  is  pure 
gold  ;  let  it  remain  so ;  then  you  will  well  deserve 
your  ring ! "     He  placed  it  on  her  finger,  and  she 
thanked  him  with  a  blissful  smile. 
"  And  now  I  go,  dear  godfather,"  said  Leonora. 
Farewell,  and  do  not  forget  me !    And — " 
At  this  moment  a  lady  entered  the  room.     Her 
dress  indicated  poverty,  and  her  face  was  pale 
sunken,  but  her  eyes  were  lit  up  with  a  noble 
enthusiasm.     "The  wedding-rings  are  exchanged 
here  ?  "  she  asked. 
"Yes,  hi- 1 

She  quickly  drew  two  from  her  finder,  and 
nd.-.l  thnn  to  M.  \\Yrkraeister.  "Take  them," 
e  cried.  "  One  of  these  rings  belongs  to  me, 
the  other  I  drew  from  the  finger  of  my  dear  hus- 
band. Ten  years  have  elapsed  since  then;  I 
I  hive  always  worn  them,  and,  although  I  have 
often  suffered  great  privations,  I  could  never  part 
with  my  only  treasure.  But  to-day  I  do  so  joy- 
Give  me  my  iron  rings  1 "  She  took 


: 


: 


^ 

enth 


J 

: 


those  handed  her,  and  placed  them  on  her  finger. 
"  Farewell,  sir,"  she  said.  "These  will  be  my 
daughter's  heirloom,  and  I  know  she  will  rejoice 
over  them."  She  had  not  yet  crossed  the  thresh- 
old when  another  lady  appeared,  and  another, 
and  more  followed  in  rapid  succession.  The 
newspapers,  containing  the  request,  had  been 
read  in  the  whole  city ;  all  the  married  women 
hastened  to  comply  with  it,  and  to  lay  down  their 
wedding-rings  on  the  altar  of  the  fatherland. 
Leonora  stood  as  if  fascinated  by  the  beautiful 
and  soul-stirring  scene.  With  radiant  eyes  she 
gazed  at  the  ladies  who  came  and  received  with 
joyous  pride  iron  rings  in  exchange  for  gold 
ones — at  the  young  women,  who,  blushing  and 
with  tearful  eyes,  gave  up  their  first  love-pledge — 
at  the  old  matrons  who  came  totteringly  to  ex- 
change the  golden  reminiscences  of  the  days  of 
their  youth  for  iron  ornaments.*  Tears  of  pro- 
found emotion  fell  from  Leonora's  eyes.  She 
wished  to  embrace  these  women  and  thank  them 
for  their  patriotism. 

"I  will  also  prove  to  the  country  how  ardently 
I  love  it,"  she  said  to  herself.  "  I  will  also  make 
my  sacrifices.  I  must  go,  Caroline  is  waiting  for 
me.  I  must  buy  arms  for  the  soldiers  whom  I 
intend  to  furnish."  She  shook  hands  with  her  god- 
father in  silence.  The  crowd  in  front  of  the  door 
receded  before  her,  and  allowed  her  to  pass,  filled 
with  reverence  for  the  women  who  returned  from 
the  solemn  sacrifice  they  had  made.  She  passed 
on,  absorbed  in  her  reflections.  Once  she  raised 
her  hand,  and  contemplated  the  iron  ring  on  her 
finger.  "  I  gave  gold  for  iron  I "  she  said,  raising 
her  dark  eyes  toward  heaven.  "  I  am  now  a  bride, 
too,  the  bride  of  my  country !  Will  it  give  me 
only  iron  for  the  gold  of  my  love?  Only  a  bul- 
let or  a  sword-cut  ?  No  matter !  I  am  the  bride 
of  the  futherland  !  I  will  live  and  die  for  it!" 
She  was  aroused  from  her  musings  by  cheers  sud- 
denly resounding  from  the  side  of  the  Gendarmes 
M.nket.  An  immense  crowd  bad  assembled  there, 
nnd  shouted  frantically,  their  faces  beaming  with 
joy. 

*  On  the  first  day  about  two  hundred  weddlng-rlngi 
were  exchanged.— Vide  Beitzke,  vol.  i. 


154 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


"  What  is  it  ?  " 

And  a  hundred  jubilant  voices  replied :  "  Gen- 
eral York  is  coming  with  the  Prussians !  The 
king  has  reinstated  Yorkl  The  court-martial 
has  acquitted  him  ! "  * 

"  Long  live  noble  General  York  !  "  shouted  the 
crowd.  "  York  was  the  first  man  to  take  heart, 
and  brave  the  French  ! " 

"York  is  coming  to  Berlin!"  shouted  others, 
hurrying  from  the  adjoining  streets  to  the  market- 
place. "  York,  with  his  Prussians,  is  outside  the 
King's  Gate,  and  to-morrow  he  will  make  his  en- 
try into  Berlin ! " 

"  Long  live  the  brave  general !  All  Berlin  will 
meet  him  to-morrow,  and  cheer  him  who  first 

*  York  made  his  entry  into  Berlin  at  the  head  of  the 
Prussian  troops  on  the  17th  of  March,  1813,  and  was  re- 
wired with  boundless  enthusiasm. 


drew  his   sword  against  the  French !     The  new 
era  is  dawning  on  Prussia  ! " 

"  Yes,  the  new  era  is  dawning  on  Prussia  ! "  ex- 
claimed Leonora.  "  We  have  long  walked  in 
sadness.  But  morning  is  breaking — the  morning 
of  freedom.  Now  we  shall  boldly  raise  our  heads. 
The  country  has  called  us,  and  we  all  have  heard 
the  call,  and  are  ready  to  conquer  or  die.  Hail, 
brave  York  !  The  time  of  thraldom  is  past !  We 
shall  rise  from  the  dust,  and  the  Germans  will 
now  reconquer  the  sacred  right  of  being  Germans. 
Oh,  my  heart,  rejoice !  I  am  no  longer  a  girl,  I 
am  one  of  Liitzow's  riflemen,  and  to-morrow  I 
shall  go  to  Breslau,  and  add  another  soldier  to 
the  Legion  of  Vengeance.  Farewell,  Leonora  Pro- 
haska,  farewell !  Now  you  are  a  man,  and  your 
soul  must  be  manly,  strong,  and  hopeful.  Long 
live  Prussia  1 " 


WAR   AND   AN   ARMISTICE. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

THEODORE    KOKXER. 

ANOTHER  corps  of  volunteers  leaving  Berlin 
tad  arrived  at  Breslau,  and  just  alighted  from 
their  wagons  on  the  large  market-place,  called 
the  "  Ring,"  and  received  their  tickets  for  quar- 
ters at  the  city  hall  Two  of  these  volunteers, 
emerging  from  the  building,  descended  arm  in 
arm  the  steps  of  the  front  staircase.  They  were 
two  young  men  of  slight  forms  and  strangely 

thful  appearance.     Not  the  faintest  down  was 

und  their  fresh  lips,  and  white  and  delicate 
their  foreheads.  But  no  one  was  surprised 
at  their  tender  age,  for  people  were  accustomed 
nowadays  to  see  lads  emulate  manhood,  believing 
that  courage  did  not  depend  on  years.  By  the 
side  of  aged  men,  boys  who  had  just  been  con- 
were  seen  to  enter  the  ranks  of  the  volun- 
and  handle  their  muskets  with  the  same 
strength  and  energy  as  veteran  soldiers.  No  one, 
therefore,  particularly  noticed  the  youthful  age 
of  the  two  volunteers  who  came  forth  from  the 
city  hall,  and  were  now  crossing  the  place  arm  in 
arm. 

"Now  our  lot  is  cast,"  said  one  of  thorn,  with 
a  smile.  "  We  are  soldiers  ! " 

"Yes,  we  are  soldiers,"  cried  the  other,  "and 
we  phall  be  brave  ones,  Caroline  1" 

"  Caroline  ! "  echoed  the  other,  in  dismay. 
"  How  imprudent  I  Did  we  not  leave  our  female 
names  with  our  wearing  apparel  at  Berlin  with 
Jew,  Leonora  ?  " 


two 

youtl 

aroui 

WCT! 


firmed 
teers, 


"  Ah,  and  you  call  me,  too,  by  my  female  name," 
said  Leonora,  with  a  gentle  smile.  "  No  matter ! 
it  is  all  right  enough  so  long  as  no  one  hears  it. 
We  have  no  secrets  from  each  other,  and  we  are, 
therefore,  allowed  to  call  each  other  by  the  names 
received  at  the  baptismal  font." 

"  But  before  the  world  we  call  ourselves  differ- 
ently now ;  I  am  Charles  Petersen,  and  you — 
what  is  your  name  now,  Leonora  ?  " 

"  My  name  is  Charles  Renz,"  said  Leonora, 
smiling.  "  That  was  the  name  of  my  dear  teach- 
er, to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  what  little  knowl- 
edge I  have  acquired,  aud  who  originally  induced 
me  to  take  the  step  I  have  ventured  upon.  He 
had  been  a  soldier  a  long  time,  and  loved  his 
country  and  the  royal  family.  History  was  his 
favorite  study,  and  he  told  me  of  the  heroic  deeds 
of  ancient  nations  in  their  struggles  for  liberty. 
His  eyes  beamed  with  transcendent  ardor,  and 
the  words  flowed  from  his  lips  like  a  stream  of 
poetry.  He  taught  me  that,  when  the  country 
was  in  danger,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  women  to 
take  up  arms  in  its  defence,  and  that  there  was 
no  more  beautiful  death  than  that  on  the  field  of 
honor.  Joan  of  Orleans  and  the  Maid  of  Sara- 
gossa  were  his  favorite  heroines,  and  he  always 
called  Queen  Louisa  the  martyr  of  German  lib- 
erty. When  she  died,  three  years  ago,  the  first 
idea  that  struck  me  was,  how  my  old  teacher 
would  bear  up  under  this  grief,  and  that  it  was 
incumbent  upon  me  to  comfort  him.  I  ha>t 
to  htm,  and  fouud  him  sad  and  disheartened. 
4  Now  my  hopes  for  Germany  are  gone,'  he  wi>\ 


156 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


1  for  the  genius  of  German  liberty  has  left  us  and 
fled  to  heaven.  Beautiful  and  noble  Queen  Louisa 
might,  perhaps,  have  still  inspired  the  Germans 
to  rise  in  arms  against  the  tyrant;  but  she  is 
dead,  and  liberty  has  died  with  her.'  '  No,'  I 
cried,  '  no  !  liberty  will  blossom  from  her  grave. 
Germany  will  rise  to  avenge  the  martyrdom  of 
the  queen ;  Germany's  wrath  will  be  kindled  anew 
by  the  sufferings  of  this  august  victim  that  Na- 
poleon's tyranny  has  wrung  from  us.  Yes,  the 
country  will  rise  to  avenge  Louisa.'  He  gazed  at 
me  a  long  while,  and  his  tears  ceased  to  flow.  Af- 
ter a  prolonged  pause  he  said :  '  If  it  be  as  you 
say,  if  Germany  take  up  arms,  what  will  you  do, 
Leonora?  Will  you  stay  at  home,  knit  stock- 
ings, and  scrape  lint,  or  will  you  sacrifice  your 
heart,  your  blood,  your  life,  and  be  a  heroine  ? ' 
I  exclaimed,  joyously :  *  I  will  sacrifice  all  to  the 
fatherland,  and  help  to  achieve  the  victory,  or  die 
on  the  battle-field ! '  The  eyes  of  my  old  teacher 
were  radiant  with  delight.  *  Swear  it  to  me,  Leo- 
nora,' he  cried,  '  swear  to  me,  by  all  that  is  sa- 
cred— swear  by  the  memory  of  our  sainted  Queen 
Louisa ! '  I  laid  my  hand  on  the  Bible,  and  swore 
by  the  memory  of  Queen  Louisa  to  fight  like  a 
man  and  a  hero.  I  am  now  about  to  fulfil  my 
oath,  and,  as  my  dear  old  teacher  has  died,  I 
have  adopted  his  name  as  my  inheritance,  and 
call  myself  Charles  Renz.  It  seems  to  me  it  is  a 
doubly  sacred  duty  now  to  be  brave,  for  I  must 
do  honor  to  my  teacher's  name." 

"  And  you  will  do  so,  I  am  sure,"  cried  Caro- 
line. "  And  I  will  do  so,  too,  Leonora.  No 
teacher  has  impelled  me  to  love  my  native  land. 
This  sentiment  is  spontaneous;  perhaps  because 
I  have  nothing  else  to  love.  I  am  alone  in  the 
world;  my  dear  parents  are  dead;  I  have  no 
brothers  or  sisters,  no  lover ;  and  inasmuch  as  I 
have  nothing  to  love,  I  gave  up  my  heart  to  ha- 
tred. I  hate  the  French,  and,  above  all,  Napo- 
leon, who  has  brought  so  much  misery  on  Europe, 
and  for  ten  years  has  spilt  rivers  of  blood.  It  is 
hatred  that  has  incited  me — hatred  has  forced 
the  sword  into  my  hand,  and  when  we  go  into 
battle,  I  shall  not  only  call,  like  you,  '  Long  live 
the  fatherland!'  but  add,  'Death  to  the  tyrant 


1  Napoleon,  the  enemy  of  the  Germans  ! '  Yes,  I 
hate  this  Bonaparte  more  intensely  than  I  lore 
my  own  life ;  and,  as  I  could  not  stab  him  with 
the  needle,  with  which  I  made  caps  and  bonnets 
for  the  fair  ladies  of  Berlin,  I  have  cast  it  aside, 
and  taken  up  the  sword.  That  is  my  whole  his- 
tory— the  history  of  the  ci-devant  milliner  Caro- 
line Peters,  the  future  horseman  Charles  Peter- 
sen." 

"  What  ! "  ejaculated  Leonora,  in  amazement. 
"  You  intend  to  enlist  in  the  cavalry  ?  " 

"  If  they  will  accept  me.  I  am  well  versed  In 
horsemanship,  for  when  my  father  was  still  living 
I  rode  out  with  him  every  day.  He  was  a  much- 
respected  farmer  in  the  suburbs  of  Stralsund,  and 
owned  many  horses.  During  the  siege  of  Stral- 
suud  he  lost  every  thing,  and  we  were  reduced  to 
extreme  poverty.  My  father  died  of  grief,  and 
since  that  time  I  have  not  again  mounted  a  horse. 
But  I  think  I  still  know  how  to  manage  one,  and 
am  not  afraid  of  doing  so." 

"  But  why  will  you  ?  Why  not  remain  in  the 
infantry,  which  would  be  much  more  natural  and 
simple  ?  " 

"  Why  ?  Shall  I  tell  you  the  truth,  Leonora  ? 
Let  me  tell  you,  then,  confidentially ;  it  is  because 
long  marches  would  incommode  me.  And  you  ? 
Would  it  not  be  better  for  you  to  follow  my  ex- 
ample ?  " 

"No,"  said  Leonora,  "I  shall  remain  in  the 
infantry,  and  become  one  of  Liitzow's  riflemen — 
a  member  of  the  Legion  of  Vengeance. — I  be- 
lieve we  have  arrived  at  the  house  designated  to 
us.  Major  von  Liitzow  lives  here ;  the  numer- 
ous volunteers  who  are  going  in  and  out  show 
that  we  have  reached  his  headquarters.  Now, 
Caroline,  farewell !  and  let  me  greet  you,  friend 
Charles  Petersen!" 

"  Leonora,  farewell !  and  let  me  greet  you, 
friend  Charles  Renz  ! "  They  shook  hands  and 
looked  into  each  other's  glowing  faces. 

"  Forward  now,  comrade ! "  said  Caroline,  walk 
ing  toward  the  house. 

"  Forward  ! "  echoed  Leonora,  jubilantly, 

Arm  in  arm  they  walked  across  the  gloomy  haU 
to  the  low,  brown  door,  entering  the  room  pointed 


THEODORE  KORNER. 


157 


out  to  them  as  Major  von  Liitzow's  recruiting- 
office.  It  was  a  large,  low  room ;  long  tables, 
painted  brown,  such  as  are  to  be  found  ic  small 
taverns  or  beer-saloons,  stood  on  both  sides  of 
the  smoky  whitewashed  walls ;  low  stools,  of  the 
same  description,  were  beside  them,  and  con- 
stituted,  with  the  tables,  the  only  furniture  of 
this  hall,  where  the  citizens  and  mechanics  had 
formerly  taken  their  beer,  and  where  now  the 
volunteers  came  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the 
fatherland  and  Major  von  Liitzow.  In  the  mid- 
dle of  this  room  stood  a  young  lady  of  rare  beauty. 
A  plain  black  dress  enveloped  her  form,  reach- 
ing to  her  neck  and  veiling  her  bust.  Her 
face  was  very  white  and  delicate,  a  complexion 
to  be  found  only  among  the  fair  daughters  of  the 
North  ;  her  blond  hair  fell  down  in  heavy  ringlets 
beside  her  faintly-flushed  cheeks  ;  a  fervent  light 
was  beaming  from  her  large  light-blue  eyes. 

"  That  is  Madame  von  Liitzow,  to  whom  the 
travellers  in  the  stage-coach  alluded,"  said  Leo- 
nora to  herself;  "it  is  the  count's  noble  daugh- 
ter, who  poured  a  glass  of  water  over  her  hand 
because  a  Frenchman  had  kissed  it,  and  who  de- 
Hcended  fjoru  her  father's  castle  to  marry  a  poor 
Prussian  officer,  whom  she  loved  for  the  scars  on 
his  forehead." 

The  beautiful  lady  approached  the  two  young 
volunteers  with  a  sweet,  winning  smile.  "You 
wish  to  see  Major  von  Liitzow,  do  you  not  ?  "  she 
inquired.  "  Unfortunately,  he  is  not  at  home ; 
business  matters  prevent  him  from  per- 
lly  welcoming  the  young  heroes  who  wish  to 

in  him.     He  has  charged  me  with  doing  so  in 
and  you  may  believe  that  I  bid  you 
with  as  joyous  a  heart  as  my  husband 
would  do." 

Oh,  we  are  so  happy  to  be  received  by  you," 
said  Leonora,  smiling,  "  for  we  were  told  at  Ber- 
lin of  noble  and  beautiful  Madame  von  Liitzow 

i  who  is  80 

a  re;  •  of  the  preat  idea  of  our 

igglc.     For  our  struggle  U  one  both  <  •: 

ince  and  love.      Since  then  we  bave  longed 
be  enlisted  by  you,  madame,  ind  to  take  our 

th  of  fidelit. 


"  I  accept  it  in  the  name  of  Major  von  Lutzow," 
said  the  lady,  with  a  gentle  smile.  "  Here  are 
your  numbers,  and  now  give  me  your  names  that 
I  may  enter  them  in  the  recruiting-book."  She 
approached  the  table  on  which  the  large  open 
book  was  lying,  and  quickly  noted  down  the 
names  which  the  two  volunteers  gave,  affixing  the 
numbers  already  given.  "  Now,  then,"  she  said, 
kindly  nodding  to  them,  "  you  are  enlisted  in  the 
sacred  service  of  the  fatherland,  and  I  hope  you 
will  do  your  duty.  I  hope  you — " 

At  this  moment  the  door  was  opened  hastily, 
and  a  young  man  rushed  into  the  room. 

"  Theodore  Korner ! "  ejaculated  the  lady, 
greeting  him  cordially. 

"  Yes,  Madame  von  Lutzow,  it  is  I,"  exclaimed 
the  young  man,  saluting  the  two  volunteers — "  it 
is  I,  and  I  come  to  you  a  prey  to  boundless  de- 
spair ! " 

Madame  von  Lutzow  hastened  to  him,  and 
looked  with  an  expression  of  heart-felt  sympathy 
into  his  handsome,  pale  face. 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  she  said,  "  your  face  looks  like 
a  cloud  from  which  thunder  and  lightning  may 
be  expected  at  any  moment.  What  is  the  mat- 
ter ?  What  has  happened  to  you,  my  poet  and 
hero  ?  " 

"  Come,  let  us  go,"  whispered  Caroline  to  her 
friend. 

"  No,  let  us  stay,"  said  Leonora,  in  a  low  voice. 
"  If  it  is  a  secret,  they  will  bid  us  go  ;  but  I  should 
like  to  know  what  ails  the  fine-looking  young  man 
whom  Madame  von  Liiteow  calls  a  poet  and  a 
hero.  Oh,  I  have  never  yet  seen  a  poet,  and  this 
one  is  so  handsome  ! " 

"Let  us  sit  down  on  this  bench,"  whispered 
Caroline,  "  and  — " 

"Hush,  let  ua  listen!"  said  Leonora,  sitting 
down. 

"  It  is  not  that,  then  ?  "  exclaimed  the  lady,  wh« 
in  the  mean  time  had  continued  her  conversa- 
tion with  the  young  man.  "Your  father  has 
not  rri>'ike<l  'iis  aon  for  the  quick  resolve  be  had 
taken." 

"  No,  no,"  said  Theodore  Korner,  hastily,  "  on 
the  contrary,  my  father  approve*  iny  detennina- 


158 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


tion  to  enlist,  and  sends  me  Ms  blessing.  I  re- 
ceived a  very  touching  letter  from  him  this  morn- 
ing." 

"  It  is  his  affianced  bride,  then,  that  has  driven 
our  poet  to  despair,  because  he  loves  her  more 
ardently  than  the  fatherland,"  said  Madame  von 
Liitzow.  "  It  is  true,  I  cannot  blame  her  for  it, 
for  the  woman  that  loves  has  but  one  country — 
the  heart  of  her  lover,  and  she  is  homeless  as  soon 
it  turns  from  her.  But  this  is  precisely  the  grand 
and  beautiful  sacrifice — that  you  give  up  for  the 
sake  of  your  country  all  that  we  otherwise  call 
the  greatest  and  holiest  blessings  of  life — your 
affianced  bride;  your  pleasant,  comfortable  exist- 
ence ;  a  fine,  honorable  position,  and  a  future 
full  of  a  poet's  fame  and  splendor.  It  is,  indeed, 
a  sacrifice,  but  a  sacrifice  for  which  the  father- 
land will  thank  you,  and  which  will  incite  thou- 
sands to  emulate  your  noble  example." 

"  Would  it  were  so ! "  exclaimed  Korner,  enthu- 
siastically, raising  his  large  black  eyes  to  heaven  ; 
"  would  that  our  patriotic  ardor  struck  all  hearts 
like  a  thunderbolt,  and  kindled  a  conflagration, 
whose  flames  would  shed  a  lustre  over  the  remotest 
times  !  I  do  not  deny  that  I  felt  how  great  was  the 
«acrifice  I  made,  but  this  very  feeling  filled  me  with 
enthusiasm.  All  the  stars  of  my  happiness  were 
shining  upon  me  in  mild  beauty,  but  I  was  not 
allowed  to  look  up  to  them  because  it  was  the 
night  of  adversity;  but  now  that  this  night  is 
about  to  vanish,  and  a  new  morning  is  dawning, 
my  stars,  too,  must  fade  before  the  sun  of  liberty. 
That  was  the  sacred  conviction  which  drove  me 
away  from  Vienna,  from  my  betrothed  bride,  and 
caused  me  to  cast  aside  all  that  otherwise  im- 
parts value  to  life.  A  great  era  requires  great 
hearts.  I  felt  strong  enough  to  go  out  and  bare  my 
breast  to  the  storm.  Could  I  do  nothing  but  sing 
songs  in  honor  of  my  victorious  brethren  ?  No 
one  would  have  then  loved  and  esteemed  me  any 
longer ;  my  parents  would  have  been  ashamed  of 
me,  and  my  affianced  bride  would  have  coiiterapt- 
uously  turned  away  from  the  cowardly  poet. 
Therefore,  I  gave  up  every  thing  for  the  sake  of 
my  native  land.  It  is  true,  my  parents  and  my 
Emma  wil.  weep  for  me.  May  God  comfort  them  ! 


I  could  not  spare  them  this  blow.  It  is  not  mucla 
that  I  risk  my  life ;  but  that  this  life  is  adorned 
with  love,  friendship,  and  joy,  and  that  I  never- 
theless risk  it,  is  a  sacrifice  that  can  be  compen- 
sated only  by  love  of  country,  more  sacred  than 
any  other  love,  and  to  it  we  should  devote  our 
life.*  My  noble  father  feels  and  knows  this,  and 
so  does  my  betrothed." 

"  And  yet,  agreed  though  you  are  with  yourself 
and  your  dear  ones,  why  this  despair  ?  "  asked 
Madame  von  Liitzow,  with  a  smile. 

Korner  looked  down  in  confusion,  and  then 
raised  his  flaming  eyes  with  a  strange  expression. 
"Ah,  madame,"  he  exclaimed,  "I  divine  your 
stratagem ;  it  is  that  of  an  angel,  and,  therefore, 
worthy  of  you." 

"  What  stratagem  do  you  mean  ?  "  she  asked, 
with  a  semblance  of  surprise. 

"  The  angelic  stratagem  by  which  you  com- 
forted me  in  my  grief,  without  knowing  its  cause. 
When  I  rushed  so  impolitely  into  this  room,  I 
told  you  that  I  was  in  despair.  And  you,  in- 
stead of  urging  me  to  tell  you  at  once  the  cauue 
of  it,  inquired  for  the  great  affairs  of  my  life,  ar  d 
whether  my  affliction  came  from  niy  parents  or 
my  affianced  bride.  You  thereby  wished  to  a  3- 
monish  me  that  these  momentous  affairs  and  re- 
lations of  my  life,  not  having  lost  their  harmony, 
my  grief  was,  perhaps,  but  a  passing  dissonance, 
and  that  it  really  might  not  be  worth  while  to 
give  way  to  despair  on  account  of  it.  I  am  sure, 
madame,  I  have  understood  you  :  was  not  this  the 
object  of  your  questions  ?  " 

Madame  von  Liitzow  nodded  gently.  "You 
have  understood  me,"  she  said.  "  I  think  in  all 
our  grievances  we  should,  before  giving  way  to 
vexation  or  despair,  lay  the  great  questions  of  life 
before  us,  and  inquire  whether  that  which  weighs 
us  down  touches  them,  whether  it  strikes  at  our 
true  happiness.  Now,  if  this  is  not  the  case,  we 
should  bear  the  grievance  lightly,  and  not  con- 
sider it  a  misfortune.  To  feel  greatly  what  is 
great,  and  to  heed  little  what  is  little,  is  the  true 
wisdom  of  life." 


*  His  own  words.— Vide  "Theodore  Earner's  Works, 
edited  by  Carl  Streckfuss,  p.  54. 


THEODORE  KORXER. 


159 


"You  are  right,  as  you  always  are,"  said  Theo- 
dore Korncr,  reverentially  bowing  to  the  beautiful 
lady,  *'  and  let  me  penitently  confess,  then,  that  I 
have  this  time  heeded  greatly  what  is  little  and 
have  considered  what  grieved  me  a  great  misfor- 
tune. But  now  that  I  have  confessed  my  guilt, 
the  guardian  angel  of  the  volunteers  must  have 
mercy  upon  me  and  come  to  ray  assistance.  For 
something  very  unpleasant  has  really  befallen  me, 
and  no  philosophy  can  dispute  it." 

"  Well,  confess  what  it  is,"  exclaimed  Madame 
von  Liitzow,  smiling. 

<l  You  know,  madame,  that  our  Legion  of  Ven- 
geance is  to  be  solemnly  consecrated  at  the  vil- 
lage of  Rochau,  at  the  foot  of  the  Zobtenberg,  on 
Sunday  next  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  do,  and  I  shall  accompany  Liit- 
zow and  the  volunteers  in  order  to  witness  the 
ceremony." 

"  At  the  village  church  we  are  all  to  appear  for 
the  first  time  in  our  black  uniforms,  to  receive 
the  preacher's  blessing,  and  to  be  consecrated  as 
soldiers  of  the  fatherland.  I  myself  have  written 
&  poem,  adapted  to  the  air  of  an  anthem,  for  this 

emn  occasion,  and  all  my  comrades  will  sing  it. 
r  the  sermon  the  volunteers  in  the  church 
will  take  the  oath  of  war  upon  the  swords  of  their 
officers.  I  have  been  ardently  yearning  for  this 

,y,  and  now  I  shall  probably  be  unable  to  par- 
ticipate in  its  services,  for — do  not  laugh,  ma- 
dame,  at  my  insignificant  mishap — the  tailor  re- 
to  make  me  a  uniform  by  that  time,  and  in 

tizen's  clothes,  as  a  fashionable  dandy,  I  really 
cannot  appear  among  the  brave  men  who  will 
proudly  walk  about  in  their  litcfkacs.  The  tailor 
le  for  him  to  make  a  uniform 
at  so  short  a  notice;  he  pretends  to  be  over- 
whelmed with  work,  and  does  not  know  where 
to  find  hands.  Xow  you,  the  helping,  advising, 
and  protecting  genius  of  the  volunteers,  arc  my 

st  consolation  and  resort.  If  you  send  for  the 
el  tailor,  and  tell  him  how  important  it  is  for 

e  to  participate  in  that  ceremony,  your  words 
will  ren  what  now  he  declares  impos- 

aible.  Therefore,  send  for  the  tailor,  madame  ;  he 
fortunately  lives  close  by,  in  the  court-yard,  in 


C: 
wi 

Ki 
1 

tic, 

dame 
fu.es 
citize 

shAvtmj 

and 

I 


the  large  rear  building ;  order  him  to  make  me  a 
uniform,  and  he  will  have  to  do  so,  for  who  could 
withstand  your  words  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  will  try,"  said  Madame  von  Liitzow, 
smiling.  "  I  will  see  whether  my  words  are  so 
impressive  as  to  move  a  tailor's  heart." 

"  And  if  he  is  unable  to  comply  with  your 
wishes  because  he  lacks  assistants,"  said  Leo- 
nora, hastily  rising  from  her  seat  near  the  door, 
and  approaching  Korner  and  Madame  von  Liit- 
zow, "  I  offer  myself  as  an  assistant,  for  I  am  a 
tailor." 

"  So  am  I,"  exclaimed  Caroline,  vividly.  "  I 
know,  too,  how  to  ply  the  needle,  and  am  ready 
to  assist  in  sewing  a  comrade's  uniform." 

"  Ah,  the  volunteers  whom  I  have  just  en- 
listed, and  whose  pardon  I  have  to  ask  for  hav- 
ing forgotten  them,"  cried  Madam  Von  Liitzow, 
smiling. 

"  We  have  rather  to  ask  your  pardon  for  stay- 
ing here,"  said  Leonora.  "  But  we  are  indebted 
to  you  and  to  the  poet  Theodore  Korner  for  the 
most  soul-stirring  sentiments,  and  it  seems  to  me 
as  though  we  have  received  only  now  the  true 
consecration  for  the  future  that  lies  before  us. 
Now,  that  I  know  what  great  sacrifices  one  may 
joyously  make,  I  feel  how  incumbent  it  was  upon 
me  to  make  them  too,  and  I  have  no  remorse  at 
leaving  my  parents  and  my  brothers.  It  is  cer- 
tainly true,  as  the  poet  said:  'A  great  era  re 
quires  great  hearts  1 '  And  therefore  I  will 
try,  to  the  best  of  my  power,  to  have  a  great 
heart,  that  I  may  be  worthy  of  our  great  era." 

•  A  great  and  noble  heart  is  beaming  from 
your  eyes,  my  friend,"  said  Theodore  Korner, 
offering  his  hand  to  Leonora.  "  I  greet  you  both 
as  dear  comrades  of  mine,  and  beg  you  to  treat 
me  as  one." 

"  Yes,  we  will  do  so,"  exclaimed  Caroline,  shak- 
ing hands  with  the  poet.     "  And  we  will  prove 
it  directly  by  going  to  tliat  tailor  and  offeri: 
assist  him  : 
lieutenant." 

44 Softly,  my  friend!"  laughed  Theodore  Kor- 
ner,  "  I  have  not  yet  risen  so  high  ;  I  am  110  lieu 
tenant" 


160 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


"  But  you  will  be  soon,"  said  Caroline,  ardent- 
ly ;  "  for  one  may  easily  read  in  your  face  that 
you  are  born  to  command,  and  not  to  obey.  We 
volunteers  are  to  elect  our  own  officers.  Well, 
then,  I  shall  vote  for  Theodore  Korner."  * 

"  So  shall  I ! "  ejaculated  Leonora. 

"  But  while  indulging  in  such  dreams  as  to  the 
future,  we  forget  the  grim  tailor,"  said  Theodore 
Korner,  smiling.  "  Madame  von  Liitzow,  I  be- 
seech you,  pity  my  distress,  and  send  for  him, 
that  your  eloquence  may  soften  his  heart." 

"  But  suppose  he  does  not  comply  ?  "  asked 
Madame  von  Liitzow.  "  It  would  be  wrong,  too, 
to  occupy  his  time  while  so  busy.  You  say  the 
man  lives  near  ? " 

"  Scarcely  fifty  steps  from  here." 

"Well,  then,  conduct  me  to  him!"  said  Ma- 
dame von  Liitzow,  "  we  will  pay  a  visit  to  him 
as  Torquato  Tasso  once  went  to  the  Duke  di 
Ferrara.  You,  my  two  young  friends,  will  please 
accompany  us,  that  we  may  present  to  him  two 
willing  assistants.  Come  ! " 

"  Yes,  madame,  and  may  your  eloquence  pre- 
vail ! "  exclaimed  Korner,  opening  the  door,  and 
posting  himself  beside  it  in  order  to  allow  the 
lady  to  pass  out. 

Graceful  and  smiling,  she  hastened  through  the 
gloomy  room  and  approached  the  door,  followed 
by  the  two  volunteers  with  their  rosy  faces  and 
bright  eyes.  When  about  to  cross  the  thresh- 
old, she  stood  and  gazed  archly  at  Korner. 
"  Stop,"  she  said,  "  I  have  to  impose  a  condition. 
If  we  are  to  assist  a  poet,  he  must  in  return  pay 
us  a  poet's  tribute.  I  shall  not  cross  this  thresh- 
old before  you  recite  one  of  your  new  war- 
songs." 

"Yes,  a  song  !  "  cried  the  two  volunteers. 

"  Well,  you  are  silent  ? "  asked  Madame  von 
Liitzow,  smiling.  "Strike  the  chords  of  your 
lyre,  and  let  us  hear  a  battle-hymn  ! " 

"No,  not  a  battle-hymn,"  said  Theodore 
Korner;  "that  requires  the  accompaniment  of 
clashing  arms  and  booming  cannon.  But  to  the 
fair  patroness  of  the  Legion  of  Vengeance  I  will 

*  Theodore  Korner  was  elected  lieutenant  by  his  com- 
r»des  on  the  24th  of  April. 


communicate,  although  it  is  not  completed,  mv 
hymn  to  the  guardian  angel  of  German  liberty- 
Queen  Louisa!"  Raising  his  dark-blue  eyes  to 
heaven,  he  recited  the  following  lines,  addressed 
to  Queen  Louisa : " 

"Du  Heilige!  hor'  Deiner  Kinder  Flehen, 
Es  dringe  machtig  auf  zu  deinem  Licht 

Kannst  wieder  freundlich  auf  uns  niedersehen, 
Verklarter  Engel  I  langer  weine  nicht! 

Denn  Preussens  Adler  soil  zum  Kampfe  wehen. 
Es  driiugt  Dein  Yolk  sich  jubelnd  zu  der  Pflicht, 

Und  Jeder  wa'hlt,  und  keinen  siehst  du  leben, 

Den  freien  Tod  fur  ein  bezwung'nes  Leben. 


"  Wir  lagen  noch  in  feige  Nacht  gebettet; 

Da  rief  nach  Dir  Dein  besseres  Geschick, 
An  die  unwurd'ge  Zeit  warst  Du  gekettet, 

Zur  Rache  mahnte  Dein  gebroch'ner  Blick. 
So  hast  Du  uns  den  deutschen  Muth  gerettet. 

Jetzt  sieh  auf  uns,  sieh  auf  Dein  Volk  zuriick, 
Wie  alle  Herzen  treu  und  muthig  brennen  I 
Nun  woll'  uns  auch  die  Deinen  wieder  nennen  1 


"  Und  wie  einst,  alle  Kriifte  zu  beleben, 
Ein  Heil'genbild,  fur  den  gerechten  Krieg 

Dem  Heeresbanner  schutzend  zugegcben, 
Als  Oriflamme  in  die  Lufte  stieg: 

So  soil  Dein  Bild  auf  unsern  Fahnen  schweben, 
Und  soil  uns  leuchten  durch  die  Nacht  zum  Sieg ! 

Louise  sei  der  Schutzgeist  deutscher  Sache ! 

Louise  sei  das  Losuiigswort  zur  Rache  1 "  * 

"  Louisa  shall  be  the  guardian  angel  of  the 
German  cause  and  the  battle-cry  of  vengea 
echoed  the  two  volunteers. 

Madame  von  Liitzow  said  nothing.   She 
with  her  white  hands  clasped,  as  if  in  prayer,  at.d 
her  sweet  face  turned  heavenward.     Tears  were 


»» 


*  O  sainted  one  1  now  let  thy  children's  prayer, 
As  incense,  rise  to  realms  of  heavenly  light; 

Beholding  us  thou  canst  with  gladness  hear, 
And  tears  no  more  may  dim  thy  vision  bright : 

For  Prussia's  standard  in  the  battle  near 
Will  nerve  thy  people  to  their  ancient  might 

Thy  sons  in  crowded  ranks  await  the  strife, 

Preferring  a  free  death  to  slavery's  life. 

Enthralled  in  long  and  timid  gloom  we  lay ; 

When  Heaven  recalled  thee,  and  thy  fetters  broke 
Which  bound  thee  to  thy  times'  unworthy  sway, 

Thy  dying  eyes  of  future  vengeance  spoke. 
Thus  didst  thou  save  on  that  sad  flnal  day 

The  German  honor,  and  our  courage  woke. 
Behold  us  now,  as  we  all  fear  resign, 
With  glowing  hearts,  and  once  more  call  us  thine  I 

As  erst  to  serried  legions  in  the  field, 

A  sacred  symbol,  as  a  golden  flame, 
Lit  up  the  battle-standard,  and  revealed 

For  whom  the  victory's  just  though  bloody  claim ; 
So  let  us,  'neath  thy  bannered  image,  wield 

A  valiant  sword— our  "  oriflamme  "  thy  namo- 
The  pledge  of  honor  and  the  gathering  cry, 
To  live  for  Prussia's  glory,  or  to  die! 


THE    HEROIC   TAILOR. 


131 


glittering  in  her  eyes ;  and,  giving  her  hand  to  the 
poet,  she  said  in  alow  voice:  "You  have  paid 
us  a  tribute  worthy  of  you.  Thanks !  And  now 
come  ! "  She  quickly  crossed  the  threshold  tow- 
ard the  court-yard.  Korner  was  by  her  side  ; 
Leonora  and  Caroline,  the  two  volunteers,  followed 
her. 

"  The  four  windows  on  the  ground-floor  yon- 
der are  those  of  the  tailor's  shop,"  said  Korner. 

Madame  von  Lutzow  nodded,  and  walked  across 
the  wide  court-vard  toward  the  house. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE     HEROIC     TAILOR. 

THE  tailor  and  his  hands  were  very  busy.  All 
sorts  of  colored  cloths  and  pieces  of  uniforms 
wen-  lying  about.  On  the  bench,  in  the  middle 
of  the  room,  sat  four  workmen,  hard  at  work. 
Not  a  word  interrupted  the  silence  now  desecrated 
by  the  noise  of  the  opening  door.  He  who  sat  on 
•\  somewhat  raised  seat,  and  was  just  braiding  a 
agnificent  scarlet  hussar-jacket,  hastily  looked 
His  hand,  armed  with  his  needle,  had  just 
risen  and  remained  suspended ;  his  eyes,  which 
he  hu-1  at  first  raised  carelessly  from  his  work, 
were  fixed  on  the  door,  which  framed  so  unusual 
*nd  attractive  a  picture — a  young  lady  of  sur- 
passing beauty,  surrounded  by  three  youthful  sol- 
who  looked  very  fine  and  imposing,  too, 
and  whose  looks  were  turned  to  him  with  a  kind 
and  inquiring  expr< 

"You  ;in,  the  merchant  tailor,  are 

.  greeting  the  tailor  with 
nod. 
"That  is  my  name,"  said  M.  Martin,  involun- 

•n  his.  seat. 

then,  my  d  -aid   the  lady,  ad- 

-ti-pa  into  the  shop,  "  I  should  like 
say  a  word  to  you." 

.  1  imagine  what  it  is,"  exclaimed  the 
tailor,  who  fixed  his  eyes  now  upon  Theodore  Kor- 
ner, and  recognized  his  tormentor.  "  The  gentle- 


passir 


man  has  been  here  twice  already  about  a  uniform 
for  Sunday.  But  I  could  not  make  it,  if  an  angel 
descended  from  heaven  to  entreat  me." 

"  Well,  I  thank  you  for  your  compliment,"  said 
Madame  von  Lutzow,  smiling.  "  But  tell  me  now, 
sir,  why  can  you  not  accommodate  him  ?  " 

"Because  I  have  more  work  now  than  I  am 
able  to  finish.  I  was  rash  enough  to  accept  so 
many  orders,  that  I  do  not  know  how  I  shall  be 
able  to  fill  them  ;  and  in  the  excitement  and  con- 
fusion prevalent  in  the  city  it  is  impossible  to  get 
assistance  at  present." 

"  Well,  if  that  is  the  only  reason,  we  bring  you 
fresh  help.  These  two  young  volunteers  are 
ready  to  work  under  your  supervision,  and  finish 
the  uniform  of  their  comrades." 

The  tailor  glanced  toward  the  two  young  vol 
unteers.  "  Lads,  scarcely  sixteen  years  old ! "  he 
said,  shrugging  his  shoulders ;  "  it  is  impossible 
that  they  can  be  experienced  artists." 

"  But  both  affirm  that  they  are  tailors,"  said 
Madame  von  Lutzow,  "  and  skilled  in  their 
trade." 

"  Yes,  sir,  please  give  us  a  trial,"  begged  Leo- 
nora." 

"  We  are  quick  and  skilful  workmen,"  protested 
Caroline. 

"  Regular  tailors  ?  "  asked  M.  Martin. 

"  Yes,  regular  tailors,''  replied  Leonora. 

"  Very  well.  Finish  this  collar ;  the  needle  is 
still  in  it,"  said  M.  Martin,  handing  the  scarlet 
soldier-jacket  to  Leonora. 

The  young  volunteer  blushed,  and  said  in  a  bw 
voice :  "  To  be  sure,  sir,  I  must  ask  you  to  show 
me  how  to  do  it,  for  I  have  never  yet  worked  on 
men's  clothes." 

"A  ladies'  tailor!"  exclaimed  M.  Martin,  with 
an  expression  of  boundless  contempt.  u  The  other 
one,  too  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  also  am  a  ladies'  tailor,"  said  Caroline, 
smiling. 

"Ami  tln\v.ire  bold  rnouirh  to  offer  their  assist 
ance  to  me!"  exclaimed  M.  Martin,  shrugging 
his  shoulders. 

"  It  is  only  necessary  for  you  to  give  tnem 
ctions,  sir,'  i me  von  Lutzow, 


11 


162 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


entreatingly,  "for  as  they  know  how  to  ply  the 
needle  they  will  easily  understand  what  to  do." 

"And  if  the  uniform  should  not  fit  well,  or  be 
badly  made,  it  will  be  laid  at  ray  door,  and  M. 
Martin  will  be  blamed  for  it.  I  assure  you  I  can- 
not take  the  job  ;  I  am  short  of  workmen  of  the 
accessary  experience.  No  one  wants  to  work 
nowadays — all  heads  are  turned — all  young  men 
are  enlisting." 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  lady,  "  all  heads  are  turned 
right  again — to  one  thing  necessary  at  this  time — 
to  the  service  of  the  fatherland." 

"  Bah  !  my  shop  is  my  fatherland,"  said  the  tai- 
lor, contemptuously. 

"  That  is  not  true,"  exclaimed  Madame  von  Lut- 
zow,  "  you  do  not  and  cannot  think  go.  For  if 
you  did,  you  would  be  no  Prussian,  no  German, 
and  no  one  could  love  and  respect  you.  During 
the  period  of  adversity  and  disgrace,  your  shop 
may  have  been  a  comfort  to  you ;  but  now  that 
the  sun  of  liberty  is  rising,  all  hearts  must  throb 
joyously;  all  must  go  out  and  gaze  upon  the 
new  world;  the  shop  no  longer  contains  the 
work  worthy  of  a  freeman — it  is  to  be  found 
only  on  the  battle-field — deliverance  of  the  coun- 
try!" 

"The  lady  is  right!"  exclaimed  the  tailor's 
three  assistants,  who  had  hitherto  looked  up  but 
stealthily  from  their  work,  but  now  cast  it  aside 
with  impetuosity.  "  Yes,  the  lady  is  right !  It 
is  a  shame  for  honest  men  to  sit  here  in  this  room 
and  ply  the  needle,  while  our  friends  and  brethren 
are  drawing  the  sword  and  marching  out  to  the 
holy  war  of  liberation.  We  must  also  participate 
in  the  great  struggle  ! " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  cried  the  tailor,  in  grim  despair, 
"  now  my  last  workmen  are  coaxed  away  from 
me !  You  have  taken  the  money  I  offered  you 
when  you  entered  my  service,  and  as  honest  men 
you  must  keep  your  word.  Resume  your  work  ! 
You  know  well  that  we  are  very  busy." 

The  men  commenced  their  work  again  with 
morose  faces,  whispering  to  each  other :  "  As 
soon  as  the  week  has  expired,  we  shall  leave  the 
shop  and  enlist." 

"  Well,  madame,  what  do  you  wish  ?  "  exclaimed 


the  tailor,  furiously.  "  You  have  come  to  give 
me  a  job,  and  at  the  same  time  you  disparage 
my  business,  and  seduce  my  workmen  to  leave 
me.  I  shall  soon  have  to  close  my  shop." 

"  But  you  will  not  do  so,  dear  M.  Martin,  be- 
fore having  made  a  uniform  for  this  young  man," 
said  Madame  von  Liitzow,  in  an  entreating  tone 
and  with  a  sweet  smile.  "  I  have  certainly  not 
come  to  disparage  your  honorable  business,  for 
what  should  we  do  without  the  skilful  tailor,  who 
makes  the  uniforms  of  our  soldiers  and  fits  them 
out,  as  it  were,  for  the  service  of  their  country  ? 
Oh,  I  am  sure  that  you  have  worked  at  them  with 
grand  reflections,  since  this  labor  is  more  agreea- 
ble to  you  than  if  you  bad  to  make  the  most  gor- 
geous suit  for  a  chamberlain,  and  it  gladdens  you 
to  think :  '  I  am  likewise  working  hard  for  the 
fatherland.  I  am  in  my  own  way  a  soldier  of 
the  country ;  for  I  devote  to  it  my  skill  and 
labor.' " 

"  That  is  true,"  said  M.  Martin,  in  confusion, 
"  and  that  you  may  not  believe  me  to  be  a  worse 
man  than  I  really  am,  I  must  tell  you  tliat  1 
do  not  take  pay  for  these  jobs,  but  that  I  huve 
offered  to  make  twelve  uniforms  for  our  soldi  2rs 
free  of  charge.  I  have  nothing  else  to  offjr; 
hence,  I  give  all  I  can ! " 

"  And  there  is  no  nobler  gift ! "  exclaimed  Ma> 
dame  von  Liitzow.  "  You  are  a  good  man  ;  pray 
give  me  your  hand  and  let  me  thank  you."  She 
offered  her  hand  to  the  tailor,  and  he  put  his 
broad,  cold  hand  timidly  into  it. 

"  Oh,  now  I  fear  nothing,"  said  Madame  von 
Liitzow,  joyfully ;  "  as  you  are  so  good  a  patriot, 
you  will  fulfil  our  prayer,  and  make  a  uniform  for 
this  young  man  for  next  Sunday." 

"  But  I  have  told  you  already  that  I  cannot," 
replied  M.  Martin,  almost  tearfully—"  I  cannot  fin 
ish  it." 

"  And  I  reply :  Try,  sir  !  I  am  sure  you  will 
finish  it.  For,  take  into  consideration,  dear  M. 
Martin,  that  your  own  reputation  is  at  stake,  and 
that  all  the  brave  volunteers  would  execrate  your 
name  if  it  should  be  your  fault  that  their  favorite 
and  celebrated  bard  could  not  attend  the  Sunday's 
ceremony." 


THE  HEROIC  TAILOR. 


163 


•    "How  so?     What  bard  do  you  allude  to,  ma- 
aame  ?  " 

"  I  allude  to  the  great  poet  who  stands  before 
you — Theodore  Korner." 

"  Ah,  this  is  Theodore  Korner ! "  exclaimed 
the  tailor.  "The  poet  who  wrote  'Toni,'  the 
splendid  comedy  that  I  saw  last  winter  at  our 
theatre  ?  " 

"  The  same,  ray  dear  sir,"  said  Madame  von 
Liitzow,  while  Korner  nodded  to  the  tailor  with  a 
I  smile.  "  And  he  has  written  many  other 
beautiful  plays,  and  magnificent  songs  to  boot. 
This  is  the  reason  why,  though  he  is  only  twenty- 
one  years  old,  he  is  famous  throughout  Germany, 
and  at  Vienna  occupied  a  brilliant  position.  He 
'3  affianced  to  a  dear,  sweet  young  woman,  whom 
he  loves  with  all  his  heart,  and  to  whom  he  was 
to  be  married  within  a  month  ;  but  suddenly  the 
battle-cry  of  freedom  resounded  throughout  Ger- 
many, the  King  of  Prussia  called  upon  the  able- 
bodied  young  men  to  volunteer  and  avenge  the 
disgrace  of  Germany,  and  see  what  love  of  coun- 
try can  accomplish  !  The  young  man  casts  aside 
every  thing — he  gives  up  all,  his  fame,  his  be- 
thed,  his  position,  and  hastens  with  enthusi- 
to  offer  his  arm  and  his  services — to  ex- 
ange  his  poetical  fame  and  his  earthly  happi- 
ness for  victory  or  an  honorable  death  on  the 
battle-field." 

"  Oh,  that  is  really  glorious,"  cried  the  men, 
king  witli   their   clinched    right    hands   their 
knee,  a?  though  it  were  a  recruiting-drum. 

41  Yes,  it  is  so,"  said  M.  Martin,  thoughtfully, 
himself. 

iic-,"  whispered  the  poet,  smiling,  "  you 
ke  me  blush  by  your  too  kind  prai 

n y  fault  that  a  plain  statement  of  the 
in  the  case  is  such  praise  for  you  ?  "  asked 
ron  Liitzow.  "  For  I  have  told  you  the 
M  Martin,  and  all  happened  precisely  as  I 
re  SUte-l  it  He  has  jrir«.-n  up  all  to  enlist, 
winly  d<>  hi*  parents  and  his  loved  one  w 

H"   htm  — ees  nothing — for  his 

•Us  him,  and  he  ifefft     He  does  not 
re  happiness  before  his  country  is  free,  and 
eet«r  than  the  most  blissful  life  seems  to  him  a 


glorious  death  for  the  fatherland.  So  he  has 
come;  the  volunteers  greeted  him  with  shouts  of 
exultation,  and  they  believe  now  that  Providence 
will  cause  their  arms  and  their  bravery  to  be  suc- 
cessful, since  an  inspired  bard  will  take  the  field 
with  them,  and  endow  them  with  redoubled 
ardor  by  his  songs.  But,  before  taking  the  field, 
they  wish  to  implore  God's  blessing  at  the  altar, 
and  on  Sunday  next  all  those  who  are  already 
uniformed  and  equipped  are  to  take  the  oath  of 
war  and  be  consecrated.  Theodore  Korner  has 
written  for  the  occasion  a  pious  hymn,  which  all 
the  volunteers  will  sing,  and  now  how  can  you  be 
so  cruel  as  to  prevent  him  from  singing  his  own 
hymn  with  them  ?  " 

"  I  ?  "  cried  the  tailor,  in  dismay. 

"  Yes,  you !  For,  If  you  do  not  accommodate 
him,  he  cannot  be  present." 

M.  Martin  heaved  a  profound  sigh,  and  cast  a 
glance  of  despair  around  hU  shop.  "  There  are 
still  three  hussar-jackets  to  be  finished,"  he  mur- 
mured. "  If  it  were  but  a  hussar-uniform  that 
the  gentleman  asks  for !  But  he  does  not  wish 
to  join  the  hussars  ?  " 

"No,  my  friend.  I  enlist  in  the  Legion  of 
Vengeance,  and  become  one  of  Major  von  Liit- 
zow's  volunteer  riflemen.  It  will,  therefore,  be 
less  troublesome  to  suit  me." 

"  But  that  dress  is  not  near  as  showy  as  the 
other,"  said  the  tailor,  morosely.  "An  entirely 
black  uniform  with  red  trimmings  on  the  sleeves 
looks  sad,  and— cnu-1." 

"  And  that  is  as  it  ought  to  be,  my  dear  sir. 
The  black  color  signifies  our  grief,  the  red  aig- 
nifies  blood." 

And  suddenly  he  commenced  to  sing : 

•i-h  tranern  wir  im  schwarzon  Racherkleide 
Um  den  gestorbnen  Mnth, 
Doch  fragt  man  Each,  was  dieses  Roth  bedentc; 
Das  deutet  Frankenblut! 


*  By  this  black  uniform  wo  ever  mourn 

The  public  spirit  dead ! 
And  why  is  then  this  crimson  facing  worn? — 
With  Frenchmen's  blood  it's  red. 

When  biph  nbovo  vast  heaps  of  slaughtered  foea, 
The  star  of  peace  shall  shine, 

ianner  white,  which  victory  bestows, 
Raise  by  oar  own  free  Rhine. 


164 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


«*Mit  Gott!— Einst  geht  hocb  fiber  Feindesleichen 

Der  Stern  des  Friedens  auf; 
Dann  pflanzen  wir  ein  woisses  Siegeszeichen 
Am  freien  Eheinstrom  auf." 

"Then  we  shall  raise  a  white  symbol  of  our  vic- 
tory on  the  banks  of  the  free  Rhine ! "  echoed  the 
volunteers,  and  the  tailor  and  his  assistants. 

"  M.  Martin ! "  cried  Madame  von  Ltitzow, 
laughing,  "  you  have  forgotten  yourself;  you  have 
joined  in  the  chorus  !  " 

"  Yes,  it  is  true,"  he  said,  "  I  have  sung  these 
few  words  with  them ;  they  make  my  heart  swell, 
and — I  do  not  know  what  has  happened  to  me — it 
seems  to  me  the  song  and  all  you  have  said  make 
another  man  of  me,  and — " 

"You  will  make  the  uniform  for  Theodore 
Korner  ?  "  asked  Madame  von  Liitzow,  smiling. 

M.  Martin  was  silent,  and  quickly  raised  his 
head  and  looked  at  his  assistants,  who  were  gaz- 
ing at  him  inquiringly. 

"  You  have  made  up  your  minds,  then  ? "  he 
asked  ;  "  When  the  week  is  up,  and  your  jobs  are 
finished,  you  intend  to  leave  me,  and  volun- 
teer ?  " 

"Yes,  we  have  come  to  that  determination," 
replied  the  three,  unanimously,  "and  nothing 
shall  prevent  us  from  carrying  it  out." 

"  Well,  then,  I  must  close  my  shop,  and  discon- 
tinue the  tailoring  business." 

"  But  what  do  you  intend  to  do,  then,  sir  ?  " 
asked  one  of  the  journeymen,  in  surprise. 

"  I  intend  to  enlist ! "  replied  M.  Martin. 
"This  beautiful  lady  and  the  song  have  en- 
chanted me.  Hurrah  !  I  also  will  enlist ! " 

"  But  my  uniform  ?  "  asked  Korner. 

"  Oh,  you  need  not  be  concerned,"  exclaimed 
the  tailor,  in  a  proud  tone ;  "  it  shall  be  made !  I 
will  work  all  night,  and  not  lay  aside  my  needle 
before  it  is  done.  Will  you  help  me,  journey- 
men ?  " 

"Yes,  sir,  we  will!" 

"  And  you,  too,  volunteers  ?  It  is  true,  you  are 
only  ladies'  tailors,  but  you  know  at  least  how  to 
line  and  pad  a  coat.  Will  you  take  the  job  ?  " 

"Yes,  M.  Martin,  we  will  joyously  do  so," 
cried  Leonora  and  Caroline. 

"Well,  then,  we  can  finish  two  uniforms  by 


Sunday — one  for  the  poet,  the  other  for  mf 
self!" 

"  My  dear  sir,  I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of 
my  heart,"  said  Madame  von  Liitzow ;  and  then, 
turning  her  radiant  face  to  Korner,  she  asked, 
"  Are  you  now  satisfied  ?  " 

"  Ah,  I  knew  well  that  no  one  could  resist  you, 
and  that  you  are  our  good  angel,"  whispered  the 
poet,  pressing  the  hand  of  the  lovely  lady  to  his 
lips. 

"  But  listen,  M.  Korner,"  said  the  tailor ;  "  if  I 
am  to  work  for  you  so  industriously,  I  must  im- 
pose a  condition,  and  you  must  promise  to  ful- 
fil it." 

"What  is  it?" 

"  It  is  that  you  shall  not  pay  me  for  my  labor." 

"  But,  sir,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to—" 

Madame  von  Liitzow  laid  her  hand  softly  on 
his  shoulder.  "  I  am  sure  you  do  not  wish  to 
offend  this  excellent  man  ?  "  she  whispered. 

"It  is  impossible  for  me  to  take  pay  for  a 
favor  which  I  do  to  one  of  my  future  comrades," 
said  M.  Martin.  "  I  suppose  that  is  what  you 
wanted  to  say,  and  you  are  right.  But  if  you  in 
sist  on  indemnifying  me,  there  is  another  way  foi 
you  to  do  so." 

"  Pray  tell  me." 

"  You  sang  two  verses,  which  sounded  so  bold 
and  fresh  that  they  touched  by  heart.  Was  that 
the  whole  song,  or  are  there  any  more  verses  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,  they  are  the  two  last ;  three  others 
precede  them." 

"Well,  comrades,"  said  M.  Martin,  gayly,  "if 
you  insist  on  my  doing  my  last  tailoring  job  for 
you,  then  sing  me  the  other  three." 

Korner  glanced  inquiringly  at  Madame  von 
Liitzow.  "  I  do  not  know,"  he  said,  hesitatingly, 
"  if  madame  will  permit  it  ?  " 

Madame  von  Liitzow  smiled.  "  I  not  only  per- 
mit, but  pray  you  to  sing,"  she  said.  "  Give  us 
the  whole  song,  and  let  us  all  join  in  the  refrain. 
Come,  brave  soldiers  of  the  future !  cast  aside 
your  work,  form  in  line,  and  sing  with  us  the 
song  of  the  Black  Riflemen !  " 

The  three  journeymen  jumped  up,  and  posted 
themselves  beside  M.  Martin.  The  lady  again 


THE   GEXERAL-IX-CHIEF  OF   THE  SILESIAN  ARMY. 


165 


withdrew  to  the  door.  On  both  sides  stood  the 
two  young  volunteers,  with  their  blooming  faces, 
and  between  these  two  groups  stood  the  tall  and 
noble  form  of  the  young  poet,  whose  fine  face 
beamed  with  courage  and  energy,  and  on  whose 
brow  genius  had  pressed  the  kiss  of  inspiration. 

"Now,  ligten  attentively  ! "  said  Theodore  Kcir- 
ner,  smiling.  "My  song  is  easy  to  sing,  for  who 
is  ignorant  of  the  song  of  the  Rhenish  wine.  Let 
us  sing  it  to  that  melody  !  " 

And  through  the  tailor's  shop,  hitherto  so 
peaceful  and  silent,  resounded  the  song  of  the 
Black  Riflemen : 

"In's  Feld,  In's  Fold,  die  Eachegeistor  mahnen, 

Auf,  deutsches  Yolk,  zum  Krieg  I 
In's  Feld,  in's  Feld !   Hoch  flattern  unsere  Fahnen, 
Sie  fuhren  uns  zum  Sieg ! 

"Klein  ist  die  Schaar,  doch  gross  1st  das  Vertrauen 

Auf  den  gerechten  Gott  1 
Wo  seine  Engel  ihre  Yeste  bauen, 
Slnd  Hollenkunste  Spott. 

"  Gebt  kein  Pardon  !  Konnt  Ihr  das  Schwert  nicht 

heben, 

So  wurgt  sie  ohne  Schen ! 
TTnd  hoch  verkauft  den  letzten  Tropfen  Leben, 
Der  Tod  macht  Alle  frei !  "  * 


To  the  field!  the  spirit*  of  vengeance  cry  ; 

Rise,  and  your  country  save ! 
Uplift  your  eagle  banners  to  the  sky— 

For  victory  they  wave  1 

In  number  small,  but  great  our  confidence 
In  a  just  God's  decree  ; 

V.'li.-n  His  own  angels  build  our  sure  defence, 
Vain  is  hell's  stra< 

No  quarter  give,  but  strike  the  fatal  blow, 

Dear  let  your  life-blood  be ; 
Ask  not  for  mercy,  and  to  none  bestow, 

For  death  makes  all  men  free. 

This  whole  scene  is  based  on  facts,  for  which  I  am 
Indebted  to  personal  communications  from  the  Countess 
Ahlefeldt  Theodore  KOrner  fell  in  the  first  year  of  the 
war  of  liberation,  before  the  decisive  battle  of  Lcipsic,  on 
the  26th  of  August,  1813,  In  a  skirmish  which  the  corps 
'  jor  von  Lutzow  had  with  the  French  near  Gade- 
busch.  Only  an  hour  prior  to  his  death,  while  lying  In 
ambush,  he  wrote  his  immortal  "Song  of  the  Sword" 
in  his  note-book.  The  statement  of  Mr.  Alison,  the  his- 
torian, that  he  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Dresden,  is 
e  iron  eons. 

Leonora  Prohanka  fell  in  an  ensrncement  on  the  Gf.nle, 
the  16th  of  S  :  i.  v  bullet  pierced  her  breast. 

AVTien  she  felt  that  she  «  &«  revcaU-d  to  her 

comrades  that  she  was  a  woman,  and  that  her  name  was 
I-eonora  Prohaska,  and  not  Charles  Renz. 

Caroline  Peters  was  more  fortunate.  She  partici- 
pated in  the  campaigns  of  1S13  and  1S14,  was  decorated 
with  the  order  of  the  Iron  Cross  on  account  of  her  bra- 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

THK    GENERAL-IN-CHIEF    OF    THE    SILESIAN    AltMY. 

GENERAL  BLUCHER  was  more  morose  and  de- 
jected than  he  had  been  for  a  long  time.  From 
the  day  he  heard  of  the  king's  arrival  at  Breslau, 
and  immediately  left  his  farm  of  Kunzendorf  to 
repair  to  that  city,  a  perpetual  sunshine  lit  up  his 
face,  and  a  new  spring  bloomed  in  his  heart. 
But  now  the  old  clouds  of  Kunzendorf  were  again 
lowering  on  his  brow,  and  a  frost  seemed  to  have 
blighted  all  the  blossoms  of  his  hope. 

He  sat  on  the  sofa,  closely  wrapped  in  his 
dressing-gown,  drumming  with  his  hand  a  quick- 
step on  the  table  in  front  of  him,  while  he  was 
blowing  clouds  of  smoke  from  his  long  pipe. 
Very  gloomy  thoughts  appeared  to  fill  Blucher's 
soul,  for  his  bushy  eyebrows  contracted,  the  quick- 
step was  more  rapid,  and  the  smoke  arose  in 
denser  masses.  In  the  violence  of  bis  inward 
trouble,  he  grimly  shook  his  head  without  think- 
ing of  the  fragile  friend  in  his  mouth.  Its  deli- 
cate form  struck  against  the  corner  of  the  table 
and  broke  into  pieces. 

"So,"  muttered  Blucher  to  himself,  "  that  was 
just  wanting  to  my  afflictions.  It  is  the  second 
pipe  broken  to-day.  Well,  there  will  be  a  day 
when  Bonaparte  shall  pay  me  these  pipes  that  he 
has  already  cost  me.  That  day  must  come,  or 
there  is  no  justice  in  Heaven.  Christian  I  0 
Christian  ! " 

The  door  opened.  Christian  Hennemann  ap- 
peared on  the  threshold,  awaiting  the  orders  of 
the  general. 

"  Another  wounded  pipe,  Christian,"  said  Blu- 
cher, pointing  at  the  pieces  on  the  floor.  "  Pick 
them  up,  and  see  if  there  is  not  a  short  pipe 
among  them." 

"No,  your  excellency,"  said  Christian,  ap- 
proaching and  carefully  picking  up  the  pieces, 
"  that  is  no  wounded  pipe,  but  a  dead  one.  Shall 
I  fetch  another  to  your  excellency  ?  " 


very,  and  honorably  discharged  at  the  end  of  the  wac 
She  was  then  married  to  the  captain  of  an  English  vessel 
whom  she  accompanied  on  his  travels,  and  with  whom 
she  visited  her  relatives  at  Stettin  in  1844— L.  M. 


166 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


He  was  about  to  turn  away,  but  Blucher  seized 
the  lap  of  his  hussar-jacket.  "  Show  me  the 
broken  pipe,"  he  said,  anxiously ;  "  let  me  see 
if  it  really  will  not  do  anymore." 

"  Well,  look  at  it,  your  excellency,"  said  the 
pipe-master,  in  a  dignified  tone,  holding  up  the 
bowl  with  a  very  small  part  of  the  tube.  "  It  is 
impossible  for  you  to  use  it  again.  If  I  should 
fill  the  bowl  with  tobacco  and  light  it,  your  ex- 
cellency, it  would  assuredly  burn  your  nose." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Blucher,  mournfully  ;  "  I 
believe  you  are  right.  I  might  burn  my  nose, 
and  that  would  be  altogether  unnecessary  now. 
I  burn  it  here  at  Breslau  every  day." 

"How  did  you  do  it?"  asked  Christian,  in 
dismay.  "  Your  excellency  has  not  yet  smoked 
short  pipes." 

"  Because  I  am  myself  like  a  short  pipe,"  cried 
Blucher,  with  a  grim  smile,  "  or  because  the  mis- 
erable, sneaking  vermin  at  court— well,  what  does 
it  concern  you  ?  Why  do  you  stand  and  stare 
at  me  ?  Go,  Christian,  and  fetch  me  a  new 
pipe." 

"  What,  a  new  pipe ! "  asked  a  voice  by  his 
side.  "  Why,  Blucher,  you  are  still  in  your  dress- 
ing-gown ! " 

It  was  his  wife  who  had  just  entered  the  room 
by  the  side-door  and  approached  her  husband 
without  being  noticed.  She  was  in  full  toilet,  her 
head  adorned  with  plumes,  her  delicate  form 
wrapped  in  a  heavy  dark  satin  dress,  trimmed 
with  costly  silver  lace.  Her  neck  and  ears  were 
ornamented  with  jewelry  in  which  large  diamonds 
shone ;  in  her  hand,  radiant  with  valuable  rings, 
she  held  a  huge  fan,  inlaid  with  pearls  and  pre- 
cious stones. 

"  Yes,  Amelia,  I  am  still  in  my  dressing-gown," 
said  Blucher,  gloomily  gazing  at  his  wife.  "  Why, 
you  are  splendidly  dressod  to-day!  What  is  it 
for  ? — and  whither  do  you  design  to  go  V  " 

"Whither!"  exclaimed  the  lady,  in  surprise. 
"  But,  husband,  do  you  forget,  then,  the  festival 
to  take  place  to-night  ?  " 

"Well,  what  is  it?"  asked  Blucher,  slowly 
drawing  his  long  white  mustache  through  his 
fingers. 


"Blucher,  to-night  the  great  ball  takes  pla<* 
which  the  city  of  Breslau  gives  at  the  city  hall  in 
honor  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  when  both  their 
majesties  will  appear." 

"  Well,  what  does  that  concern  me  ?  " 

"It  concerns  you  a  great  deal,  for  you  have 
solemnly  promised  the  burgomaster,  who  came 
personally  to  invite  us,  that  you  would  attend  the 
ball  to-night." 

"And  I  shall  not  go  to  it  after  all,  Amelia," 
cried  Blucher,  striking  with  his  hand  on  the 
table.  "No,  Amelia!  I  am  no  dancing-bear 
to  turn  around  at  a  ball,  and  to  be  led  by  the 
nose." 

"  But,  Blucher,  what  has  happened  to  you  ?  " 
asked  bis  wife,  wonderingly.  "You  were  as  merry 
and  high-spirited  as  a  young  god  of  spring ;  the 
violets  laughed  when  they  saw  you  pass  by,  and 
the  snow-drops  rang  their  tiny  bells  in  your  honor, 
and  now  suddenly  it  is  winter  again !  Pray,  tell 
me,  what  has  happened  to  you  ?  " 

"  Nothing  at  all  has  happened  to  me — that  is 
just  the  misfortune,"  cried  Blucher.  "  It  is  more 
than  a  month  now  since  I  have  been  sitting  here 
at  Breslau,  and  nothing  has  happened.  I  am  still 
what  I  always  was — an  old  pensioned  general, 
who  has  no  command,  and  nothing  to  do  but  to 
retire  to  Kunzendorf  and  plant  cabbage-heads, 
while  others  in  the  field  are  cutting  off  French 
heads.  And  it  will  be  best  for  me  to  go  back  to 
Kunzendorf.  I  have  nothing  to  do  here ;  no  one 
cares  for  an  old  fellow  like  me.  I  have  hoped  on 
from  day  to  day,  but  all  my  hopes  are  gone  now. 
Amelia,  take  off  your  tinsel,  and  pack  up  our 
traps.  The  best  thing  we  can  do  will  be  to  start 
this  very  evening  and  return  to  our  miserable,  ac- 
cursed village ! " 

"  Dear  me !  what  a  humor  you  are  in ! "  ex- 
claimed his  wife.  "  Every  thing  will  be  right  in 
the  end,  my  husband ;  you  must  not  despair ; 
things  are  only  taking  their  course  a  little  more 
deliberately  than  my  firebrand  wishes.  But 
finally  all  will  be  precisely  as  you  want  it,  for 
without  Blucher  they  are  unable  to  accomplish 
any  thing,  and  will,  therefore,  at  last  resort  to 
him." 


THE   GEXERAL-IX-CHIEF   OF   THE   SILESIAN   ARMY". 


167 


11  And  I  toll  you  they  will  try  to  get  along  with- 
out me,"  cried  Blucher ;  "  I  shall  be  a  disgraced 
man,  at  whom  the  very  chickens  will  laugh,  if  he 
has  to  sneak  back  to  Kunzendorf  instead  of  tak- 
ing the  field.  Pack  up,  Amelia,  we  shall  leave 
this  day  ! " 

"  But  that  is  impossible,  Blucher !  It  would 
look  like  a  cowardly  fliirht,  and  your  enemies 
would  rejoice  over  it.  No,  you  must  go  to  the 
ball  to-night ;  you — " 

"  General  Scharnhorst ! "  announced  a  footman 
at  this  moment,  and  there  appeared  in  the  open 
door  the  general,  dressed  in  his  gala-uniform,  and 
his  breast  decked  with  orders. 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  come,  general,"  exclaimed 
Amelia,  hastening  to  him,  and  shaking  hands 
with  her  friend.  "  Look  at  that  stubborn  old 
man,  who  does  not  wish  to  go  to  the  ball !  Say 
yourself,  general,  must  he  not  go  ?  " 

"Certainly  he  must,"  said  Scharnhorst,  smil- 
ing, "and  I  come  to  beg  of  you  a  seat  in  your 
carriage,  and  to  let  me  have  the  honor  of  appear- 
ing in  the  suite  of  General  and  Madame  von 
Blucher.  You  had,  therefore,  better  dress  at 
once,  my  dear  general.  It  is  high  time.  Even 
their  majesties  have  already  set  out." 

Blucher  gently  shook  his  head,  and  slowly  raised 
his  eyes  toward  Scharnhorst,  who  stood  in  front 
of  him.  "  Scharnhorst,"  he  said,  "  every  thing 
turns  out  wrong,  and  I  wish  myself  dead  rather 
than  see  such  a  state  of  affairs." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  general  ? "  inquired 
Scharnhorst  "  What  has  happened  ?  " 

Blucher  cast  a  piercing  glance  on  him,  and 
seemed  to  read  in  the  depths  of  his  soul.  "  Is 
the  matter  settled?"  he  asked.  "Pray,  my 
friend,  tell  me  the  truth  without  circumlocution. 
It  is  better  for  me  to  know  it  at  once  than  allow 
this  incertitude  longer  to  gnaw  at  my  heart. 
!  implore  you,  tell  me  the  truth  ! 
!I:i--  the  comnian  lor  of  the  Silesian  army  been 
appointed  ?  " 

"  No,  general,"  said  Scharnhorst,  gravi-ly. 

"And  you  do  not  know  whom  they  will  ap- 
point ?  The  truth,  my  friend  !  " 

"  Well,  then,  the  truth  is,  that  I  do  not  know  it, 


and  that  their  majesties  themselves  do  not  know 
it,  although  every  patriot  thinks  they  ought  not 
to  doubt  which  of  the  three  gentlemen  who  stand 
on  the  list  should  be  appointed,  for  every  heart 
echoes,  '  General  Blucher  is  the  man  whom  we 
need,  and  who  will  lead  us  to  victory.'  The  em- 
peror and  the  king  are  still  vacillating ;  precious 
time  is  lost — Napoleon  is  organizing  new  armies, 
and  strengthening  himself  on  all  sides,  while  they 
are  hesitating." 

"  Three,  then,  stand  on  the  list,"  said  Blucher. 
"  I  have  two  competitors.  Who  are  they,  gen- 
eral ?  " 

"  One  is  Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth." 

Blucher  started,  and  his  eyes  flashed  with  an- 
ger. "What!"  he  cried.  "That  childish  old 
man  to  command  an  army !  He  who  is  constantly 
singing  hymns  of  praise  to  Napoleon  and  his 
French — he  who,  -only  the  other  day,  showed 
again  that  he  deemed  a  frown  of  Bonaparte  more 
terrible  than  the  peril  of  a  German  patriot !  He 
command  an  army  to  vanquish  Napoleon !  I  sup- 
pose you  know  what  he  has  done  ?  He  betrayed 
to  the  French  ambassador,  Count  St.  Marsan,  who 
followed  our  king  to  Breslau  in  order  to  watch  him, 
that  Minister  von  Stein,  our  noblest  friend,  had  se- 
cretly come  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  with  the 
king  in  the  name  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia ;  that  he 
was  living  in  a  garret,  and  that  conferences  of 
the  enemies  of  Napoleon  were  held  there  every 
night."  * 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  said  Scharnhorst,  "  Field- 
Marshal  Kalkreuth  did  so,  and  it  is  no  fault  of  his 
that  Baron  von  Stein,  with  his  friends,  one  of 
whom  I  happen  to  be,  was  not  secretly  seized 
and  carried  off  by  the  French.  Fortunately,  dear 
Count  St.  Marsan  did  not  believe  the  field-mar- 
shal who  betrayed  his  German  countryman.  The 
French  ambassador  allowed  himself  to  be  deceived 
by  the  stillness  that  reigned  in  the  garret,  which, 
according  to  the  statement  Kalkreuth  made  to 
him,  was  inhabited  by  dangerous  Minister  von 
Stoin."f 

"  Well,  and  this  man.  the  head  of  the  French 

*  Pertz's  "  Life  of  Stein,"  voL  iii.,  p.  810. 
t  Beitzke,  vol.  L,  p.  170. 


168 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


party,  they  wish  to  appoint  general-in-chief  of  the 
Silesian  army,"  said  Blucher,  mournfully.  "  Ame- 
lia, pack  up  our  traps ;  let  us  return  to  Kun- 
zendorf." 

"  But  Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth  has  not  yet  been 
appointed,"  said  Scharnhorst,  smiling ;  "  I  be- 
lieve his  two  competitors  have  as  good — nay,  bet- 
ter prospects  than  he  has." 

"It  is  true,  I  forgot  the  second  competitor," 
grumbled  Blucher.  "  Who  is  it  ?  " 

"  It  is  Lieutenant-General  Count  Tauentzien,  in 
whom  the  Emperor  Alexander  takes  a  great  deal 
of  interest." 

"  Of  course,"  said  Blucher,  sarcastically,  "  he 
is  a  count,  and  he  has  such  a  polish,  and  courtly 
manners  ;  he  knows  how  to  flatter  the  sovereigns, 
and  tell  them  only  what  is  agreeable.  But  now, 
you  yourself  must  admit,  Scharnhorst,  that  it  is 
best  for  me  to  set  out  immediately  for  Kunzen- 
dorf,  and  that  I  have  no  prospects — none  what- 
ever! The  two  sovereigns,  the  king  and  em- 
peror, alone  will  make  the  appointment,  will  they 
not?" 

"  Of  course,  they  alone  !  " 

"  Well,  each  of  them  has  a  candidate  of  his  own. 
The  emperor  is  in  favor  of  Count  Tauentzien,  and 
the  king  is  for  Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth.  Who, 
then,  is  to  think  of  and  speak  for  me  ?  " 

"  Your  glory  will  speak  for  you,  general,"  said 
Scharnhorst,  feelingly;  "the  love  which  every 
soldier  feels  for  you  will  speak,  and  you  will  speak 
for  yourself  by  your  noble  appearance — your  self- 
reliant  bearing,  your  energy  and  strength,  which 
do  not  shrink  from  truth.  Come,  let  us  get 
ready  for  the  ball,  and,  my  friend,  do  not  impose 
any  restraint  upon  yourself  there ;  give  the  reins 
to  your  discontent;  tell  every  one  frankly  and 
bluntly  that  you  are  dissatisfied — that  you  ar- 
dently desire  to  be  appointed  general  in-chief,  and 
that  you  would  consider  it  a  great  misfortune  if 
another  man  should  be  preferred  to  you." 

"But,  dear  general,"  exclaimed  Madame  von 
Blucher,  in  dismay,  "  how  can  you  give  Blucher 
such  advice  ?  You  know  how  hot-headed  and 
rash  he  is  !  He  will  rave  about  so,  that  the  king 
and  the  emperor  themselves  will  hear  him." 


"  Well,"  said  Scharnhorst,  smiling,  "  it  is  some- 
times very  well  that  there  should  be  a  man  cou* 
rageous  enough  to  tell  the  kings  and  emperors  the 
truth,  and  prove  to  them  that  mankind  do  not 
always  fawn  upon  them  with  polite  submissive- 
ness." 

"Scharnhorst  is  right,"  exclaimed  Blucher, sud- 
denly straightening  himself;  "  yes,  I  will  go  to 
the  ball,  and  tell  them  there  at  least  what  sort  of 
men  those  are  whom  they  wish  to  appoint,  and 
what  we  may  expect  from  them.  They  shall  not 
afterward  excuse  themselves  by  saying  that  they 
were  not  forewarned,  and  that  no  one  had  called 
their  attention  to  Blucher.  I  will  do  it  myself— 
yes,  thunder  and  lightning !  I  will  remind  them 
of  Blucher,  and  they  shall  hear  and  understand 
me. 

"  Well,"  cried  Madame  von  Blucher,  "  I  beg 
permission  to  stay  at  home,  for  Blucher  will  have 
a  scene,  at  which  I  do  not  wish  to  be  present." 

"Oh,  no,  there  will  be  no  scene  whatever," 
said  Blucher.  "  I  shall  make  my  obeisance  to 
their  majesties  and  then  step  aside,  but  of  course 
I  am  not  to  keep  altogether  still,  and — well,  you 
know  my  motto,  '  At  them ! '  *  Well,  then,  *  at 
them!'  Let  us  go  to  the  ball.  You  must  ac- 
company me,  Amelia,  there  is  no  help  for  it ;  for 
it  may  be  necessary  for  you  to  bring  me  back  to 
reason.  You  know  well  that  no  one  but  jou  can 
do  that." 

"  I  am  sure,  madam e,  you  will  not  abandon  us 
at  this  critical  hour  ? "  begged  Scharnhorst. 
"  You  do  not  desire  his  guardian  angel  to  leave 
him  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  will  go  with  you,"  she  said,  smiling, 
"  if  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  restrain  my  fiery 
thunderer  in  proper  time." 

"  Well,  it  may  not  be  of  any  avail,"  said  Blu- 
cher, dryly.  "  By  Heaven  !  I  must  unbosom  my- 
self a  little  to-day — I  must  tell  them  the  truth, 
which  no  one  here  at  Breslau  likes  to  hear. — 
Well,  Amelia,  do  me  the  favor  to  turn  toward  the 
window.  I  wish  to  take  off  my  dressing-gown 
and  put  on  my  uniform  coat — then  I  am  dressed  ; 


"  Immer  drauf ! 


TilE  BALL  AT  THE   CITY  HALL  OF  BRESLAU. 


169 


&nly  my  coat  is  wanting;  it  lies  on  the  chair 
youder;  wait  until  I  have  put  it  on,  and  then 
we  shall  ride  to  the  ball.  I  will  call  John  to  assist 
me." 

"  Do  not  call  any  one,"  eaid  Scharnhorst,  "  but 
permit  me  to  assist  you.  Here  is  the  coat." 

"  And  here  I  am,"  cried  Blucher,  throwing  off 
the  dressing-gown  and  quickly  plunging  into  the 
coat  which  Scharnhorst  handed  him. 

"  But  now  listen,  general,"  said  Scharnhorst, 
handing  Blucher  the  sword  and  belt.  "  As  you 
are  BO  very  amiable  and  kind,  I  will  tell  you  good 
news.  Gneisenau  will  be  here  to-morrow." 

"  What  ?  Is  he  no  longer  in  England  ?  "  asked 
Blucher,  joyously. 

"  Xo,  he  is  in  Germany,  and,  as  he  wrote  to  me, 
will  arrive  to-morrow  at  the  latest.  He  landed 
nearly  a  week  ago  from  a  Swedish  ship  at  Col- 
berg,  where  he  was  received  with  enthusiasm. 
The  whole  city  was  illuminated  on  the  evening  of 
his  arrival,  and  the  citizens  marched  in  procession 
to  bis  lodgings.*  You  see  the  old  hatred  and  the 
old  love  are  still  alive  in  the  people ;  they  have 
not  forgotten  their  oppressors,  nor  their  heroes 
either." 

"  Then  Gneisenau  has  come,  too,"  exclaimed 
Blucher;  "he  is  the  petrel  that  heralds  the  storm. 
There  will  be  war  now,  certainly ;  and  if  I  am  not 
permitted  to  share  in  it,  my  heart  will  burst  like 
an  overcharged  gun.  Gneisenau  come  !  all  men 
are  coming,  and  Blucher  is  to  stay  at  home! 
"\\Y11,  if  they  do  not  appoint  me  commanding 
general,  I  will  enlist  as  a  private.  For  I  must 
participate  in  the  war  that  is  to  put  an  end  to 
Bonaparte's  tyranny ;  and,  if  I  cannot  be  first 
•lancer,  I  shall  be  one  of  the  musicians. — Chris- 
tian, have  the  carriage  brought  to  the  door  ! " 


THE 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

THK    BALL    AT   T1IK    <'ITY    HA  I.I.    OF    IJI'.KSLAU. 

THE  large  saloon  of  the  city  hall  of  Brcslau 
presented   an    exceedingly  festive  and   brilliant 


*  Beitzke,  vol.  i.,  p.  196. 


spectacle.  The  walls  were  tastefully  dtcorated 
with  festoons  and  flags,  exhibiting  alternately  the 
Russian  and  Prussian  colors ;  between  them  were 
the  Prussian  eagle  and  the  double-headed  Russian 
eagle  in  richly-gilt  medallions,  surrounded  by  re- 
splendent tapers.  On  the  ceiling  were  suspended 
three  enormous  chandeliers,  each  adorned  with 
fifty  large  wax  candles,  which  shed  a  flood  of 
light  through  the  whole  hall,  and  reflected  them- 
selves a  hundred  times  in  their  balls  and  pendants 
of  rock  crystal.  In  the  gallery,  fixed  on  the  up- 
per half  of  one  of  the  walls  of  the  hall,  and 
splendidly  decorated  with  garlands  and  Prussian 
and  Russian  flags,  sat  a  band  of  fifty  musicians, 
who  caused  soul-stirring  greetings  to  roll  down 
into  the  hall,  where  the  brilliant  and  numerous 
crowd  of  guests,  whom  the  municipal  authorities 
had  invited,  were  moving  up  and  down ;  the  ladies 
in  the  most  magnificent  toilets,  in  the  gorgeous 
splendor  of  diamonds  and  other  precious  stones, 
of  flowers  and  laces ;  the  gentlemen  in  their  gold- 
embroidered  uniforms,  their  breasts  ornamented 
with  orders  ;  but  among  them  were  seen  also  the 
dark  figures  of  Liitzow's  riflemen,  the  plain  coats 
of  the  citizens,  and  even  some  of  the  peasantry 
in  their  becoming  rural  costumes.  All  classes 
were  represented  at  this  great  ball,  which  tho 
municipal  authorities  of  Breslau  gave  in  honor 
of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  for  these  representa- 
tives of  all  classes  were  to  offer  to  Alexander  the 
homage  of  the  Prussian  people,  and  to  return 
thanks  to  the  noble  ally  of  the  king  for  the  assist- 
ance that  he  intended  to  lend  to  Prussia. 

The  emperor  and  the  king,  therefore,  were  re- 
ceived with  boundless  enthusiasm  when  they  en- 
tered the  hall  arm  in  arm,  each  decorated  not 
with  his  own  orders,  but  with  those  of  his  ally. 
Alexander  had  acknowledged  this  flattering  re- 
ception with  the  affability  and  the  smiling  grace 
peculiar  to  him;  Frederick  William,  with  the 
gravity  and  calmness  that  never  left  him.  After 
the  first  presentations  and  official  addresses  were 
over,  Alexander  requested  the  presiding  burgo- 
master to  set  aside  the  embarrassing  ceremonial, 
and  to  allow  every  one  to  yield  without  restraint 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  festival.  In  order  to  giv« 


170 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


an  example  to  the  assembled  guests,  the  emperor 
suggested  to  the  managers  that  dancing  might 
begin,  and,  offering  his  arm  to  the  wife  of  the 
presiding  burgomaster,  he  opened  the  ball  with 
the  Polonaise.  After  the  dance  he  moved  about 
the  hall  with  the  most  amiable  affability,  always 
endeavoring  by  his  kindness  and  politeness  to 
cause  all  to  forget  the  gulf  separating  them  from 
the  emperor.  The  king  had,  like  him,  partici- 
pated in  the  opening  of  the  ball ;  but  he  retired, 
grave,  silent,  and  cold  as  ever,  into  the  adjoining 
apartment  which  was  destined  for  the  private 
audience-room  of  the  two  sovereigns,  and  which 
none  were  permitted  to  enter  but  those  whom 
the  footmen  of  the  king  and  the  emperor  ex- 
pressly invited.  As  long  as  Alexander  and  Fred- 
erick William  were  in  the  large  hall,  they  only 
desired  to  be  the  guests  of  their  kind  hosts,  and 
affable  and  unassuming  members  of  the  party ; 
no  sooner,  however,  had  they  crossed  the  thresh- 
old of  their  audience-room  than  they  were  again 
the  king  and  the  emperor,  whom  no  one  was 
allowed  to  approach  without  being  requested. 
From  this  audience-room  a  door,  veiled  by  heavy 
velvet  curtains,  led  into  another  apartment,  where 
a  small  table,  covered  with  the  choicest  cold 
viands,  and  the  most  exquisite  and  rare  wines, 
had  been  set  for  the  two  sovereigns,  and  this 
Email  apartment  led  to  the  large  supper-room 
that  was  again  connected  by  a  small  room  with 
the  vast  saloon.  One  of  the  long  walls  of  this 
supper-room  was  occupied  with  an  enormous 
buffet,  loaded  with  the  most  select  delicacies  in 
colossal  dishes  of  silver  and  porcelain,  and  beside 
which  were  large  crystal  bowls,  filled  with  smok- 
ing punch  or  fragrant  cardinal.  In  the  remaining 
space  was  a  number  of  small  round  tables  ready 
for  supper,  at  which  those  might  take  seats  who 
desired  to  refresh  themselves  after  the  exhausting 
pleasures  of  the  festival. 

Alexander  and  Frederick  William  had  retired 
into  the  audience-room,  and  sent  for  those  per- 
sons whom  they  desired  to  distinguish  particu- 
larly to-night.  There  were  Majors  von  Liitzow 
and  Petersdorf,  who  had  been  invited  to  the 
honor  of  an  audience  which  had  been  conferred 


even  upon  some  of  the  volunteers,  among  them 
upon  Baron  la  Motte  Fouque  and  Theodore. 
Korner ;  and  Alexander  told  them  with  charming 
enthusiasm  of  his  sympathy  for  the  heroic  Prus- 
sian nation,  and  of  his  admiration  of  its  glorious 
self-denial.  He  stated  to  Major  von  Liitzow  that, 
if  he  did  not  happen  to  be  emperor,  he  would  not 
allow  any  one  to  prevent  him  from  volunteering 
in  his  Legion  of  Vengeance;  and  to  Theodore 
Korner,  in  proof  of  the  admiration  he  felt  for  his 
poems,  he  recited  the  first  verses  of  his  patriotic 
song,  u  Frisch  auf,  mein  Volk,  die  Flammenzei- 
clien  rauchen." 

Frederick  William  contented  himself  with  ad- 
dressing a  kind  word,  a  brief  salutation,  to  each 
of  them,  and  then  again  moving  toward  the 
portiere,  looked  at,  the  motley  crowd  in  the  ball- 
room. Suddenly,  while  the  two  sovereigns  were 
standing  side  by  side,  engaged  in  a  familiar  chat, 
and  looking  into  the  hall,  an  unusual  commotion 
was  noticed.  All  rushed  toward  the  entrance  of 
the  hall,  through  which  the  two  burgomasters 
had  just  stepped  into  the  outer  reception-room. 
Undoubtedly  some  one  was  expected,  and  more- 
over one  whom  all  the  guests  were  anxious  to 
see  and  to  welcome  in  the  most  enthusiastic 
manner. 

The  large  folding-doors  opened,  and  between  the 
two  burgomasters  appeared  the  slender,  firmly- 
knit  form  of  General  Blucher.  Behind  him  was 
General  Scharnhorst,  escorting  Madame  von  Blu- 
cher. Blucher  advanced,  with  a  winning  smile 
on  his  fine,  good-natured  countenance,  greeting 
the  assembled  guests  by  pleasantly  nodding  to 
the  right  and  left.  At  first  his  polite  saluta- 
tions were  returned  in  silence,  but  gradually  there 
arose  murmurs  and  whispers — the  eyes  which 
were  fixed  upon  the  hero's  form  grew  more  ra- 
diant, and  soon  cheers  resounded  through  the 
whole  hall — deafening  shouts  of  "Long  live 
Blucher ! — Long  live  our  hero,  brave  General 
Blucher ! " 

"  A  flourish  ''  shouted  other  voices  to  the  mu- 
sicians. The  presiding  burgomaster  nodded.smil- 
ingly,  and  waved  his  white  handkerchief.  The 
musicians  made  a  loud  flourish  resound,  and  more 


THE  BALL   AT   THE   CITY   HALL   OF   BRESLAU. 


171 


deafening  and  jubilant  became  the  shouts  of 
"Long  live  Blucher ! — Long  live  our  horo!" 
Blucher  bowed,  confused  and  almost  ashamed, 
and  with  so  charming  an  expression  of  surprise 
and  joy  that  (his  called  forth  a  new  outburst  of 
tumultuous  applause  and  enthusiasm. 

The  two  sovereigns  stood  in  the  open  door  of 
the  audience-room,  and  witnessed  this  strange  and 
unexpected  scene,  Alexander  smiling  and  appar- 
ently well  pleased,  Frederick  William  grave  and 
with  a  slight  shadow  on  his  brow. 

"  Ah,  sir,"  said  Alexander,  in  a  low  and  quick 
voice,  "  it  seems  to  me  the  guests  intend  to  make 
A  little  demonstration  in  honor  of  your  general, 
and  to  give  us  a  gentle  hint  whom  they  would 
like  to  have  appointed  general-in-chief  of  the  Sile- 
sian  army." 

"  Indeed,  it  seems  so,"  said  Frederick  William, 
morosely,  "  but  I  do  not  like  such  demonstrations, 
and  they  have  no  effect  upon  myself." 

"But  let  us  now  greet  the  hero,"  exclaimed 
Alexander,  smiling;  "people  ought  to  see  that 
we  share  the  general  sympathy."  He  quickly 
stepped  into  the  ballroom  ;  the  king  followed  him 
elowly  and  hesitatingly. 

"Welcome,  my  dear  General  Blucher,"  said 
Alexander,  offering  hii  hand  to  the  general,  while 
the  king  saluted  him  merely  with  a  nod.  The  hum 
and  noise  which  hitherto  filled  the  hall  like  the 
roar  of  the  sea,  immediately  died  away.  Silence 
ensued ;  every  one  stood  still  as  if  riveted  to  his 
place ;  all  6  .rncd  in  eager  suspense  and 

with  breathless  curiosity  toward  the  group  that 
stood  in  the  middle  of  the  hall ;  all  tried  to  catch 
a  word,  a  glance,  in  order  to  draw  therefrom  their 
own  conclusions.  And,  amid  this  general  silence, 
was  heard  the  melodious  voice  of  Alexander,  who 
said  again,  "  Welcome,  my  dear  General  Blucher  ! 
I  am  really  glad  to  greet  you,  and  to  meet  you 
again  after  so  long  an  interval.  I  did  not  know, 
indeed,  that  you  were  here  in  Breslau ;  otherwise 
I  would  have  cilled  upon  you." 

"  That  would  have  been  very  gracious,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  character  of  your  majesty," 
giid  Blucher,  loudly  and  firmly.  "For  your  ma- 
jf*ty  is  known  never  to  forget  those  who  are 


worthy  of  being  remembered.  All  patriots  have 
learned,  with  feelings  of  gratitude  and  enthu- 
siasm, that  your  majesty,  directly  after  your  ar- 
rival, called  upon  that  noble  and  intrepid  Ger- 
man, Minister  von  Stein,  who  was  living  solitary, 
sick,  and  deserted,  in  his  garret,  and  who,  up  to 
that  time,  only  a  few  faithful  friends  and  a  few 
cowardly  enemies  had  remembered."  * 

These  words,  uttered  in  a  loud  and  powerful 
voice,  produced  various  effects.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  smiled  and  bowed  his  head  quickly 
and  repeatedly ;  King  Frederick  William  frowned 
slightly,  and  this  authorized  the  gentlemen  of  his 
suite,  who  stood  behind  him,  Field-Marshal  Kal- 
kreuth  and  General  Knesebeck,  to  frown  too,  and 
cast  angry  glances  at  Blucher.  Madame  von 
Blucher,  who  had  modestly  kept  somewhat  in  the 
background,  turned  very  pale,  and  leaned  trem- 
blingly upon  the  arm  of  General  Scharnhorst,  who 
smiled  and  whispered,  "Blucher  is  grand!  He 
is  a  true  fire-king  among  the  will-o'-the-wisps ! '* 
The  two  burgomasters  and  the  host  of  courtiers 
smiled  when  they  glanced  at  the  emperor,  and 
looked  grave  and  gloomy  when  they  turned  their 
eyes  to  the  clouded  brow  of  the  king.  Blucber, 
however,  did  not  seem  to  notice  the  impression 
produced  by  his  words,  and  looked  around  as 
composedly  as  if  he  had  made  a  mere  courtier's 
reply  to  the  emperor's  gracious  salutation. 

"  I  am  happy  to  be  one  of  Stein's  friends,'* 
said  Alexander,  "  but  I  do  not  think  it  requires 
particular  courage  to  profess  friendship  for  a 
ni.i unanimous  man  whom  all  Germany  reveres  and 
admires." 

"Xo,  your  majesty,"  said  Blucher,  calmly,  "only 


*  Minister  von  Stein  had  arrived  sick  at  Breslau,  and 
lived,  as  stated  above,  in  a  small  garret,  which  Major 
von  Lutzow  had  surrendered  to  him.  Only  his  intimate 
friends  visited  him  there,  and  this  was  the  reason  why 
Count  St  Marsan,  whom  Field-Marshal  K.ilkreuth  had 
informed  of  Stein's  arrival  at  Breslau,  did  not  believe  in 
tho  truth  of  this  information.  Baron  von  Stein,  however, 
received  secretly  many  proofs  of  love  and  sympathy.  The 
king  alone  took  no  notice  of  him,  and  the  members  of  th«j 
court,  too,  were  prohibited  from  entering  into  any  rela- 
tions with  Stein.  There  was  a  change  for  the  better, 
however,  as  soon  as  tho  Emperor  of  Russia  arrived,  and 
at  once  called  upon  Stein.  Now  all  hastened  to  visit  him, 
and  overwhelmed  him  with  protestations  of  devotion, 
which  he  rejected  frequently  with  great  asperity. 


172 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


a  short  time  ago  it  required  a  great  deal  of  courage 
for  a  German  to  profess  friendship  for  Minister 
von  Stein,  for  the  Emperor  Napoleon  hates  and 
fears  him,  and  for  this  reason  three-fourths  of  the 
Germans  hate  and  fear  him  from  humble  respect 
for  the  Emperor  of  the  French. — Is  it  not  so  ?  " 
added  Blucher,  suddenly  turning  to  Field-Marshal 
Ralkreuth,  who  stood  close  beh:nd  the  king,  "is 
it  not  as  I  say  ?  Do  you  not  admit  that  I  am 
right,  Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth  ?  " 

This  question,  which  was  addressed  to  a  by- 
stander, with  utter  disregard  of  etiquette,  caused 
the  blood  of  the  courtiers  to  freeze,  and  made 
Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth  turn  purple  with  anger. 
The  Emperor  Alexander,  however,  burst  into  loud 
laughter,  and,  turning  to  the  king,  he  whispered 
to  him  in  a  hurried,  low  voice,  "  You  are  right,  sire, 
Blucher  is  a  madcap,  a  genuine  hussar,  always 
ready  to  charge ! "  The  king  nodded,  and  as 
Alexander  laughed,  he  forced  himself  also  to 
smile  a  little.  Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth  responded 
to  Blucher's  question  only  by  a  quick,  angry 
glance  and  a  gentle  bow.  "Well,"  said  Alex- 
ander, turning  again  to  Blucher,  "  I  am  satisfied, 
however,  that  you  did  not  belong  to  the  three- 
fourths  of  the  Germans  that  hated  and  loved  ac- 
cording to  the  wishes  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon, 
general  ?  " 

"  No,  your  majesty,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  "  I 
have  always  belonged  to  his  most  consistent  and 
implacable  enemies,  though  I  really  owe  him  a 
great  deal — nay,  almost  my  life." 

"  How  your  life  ?  "  asked  Alexander,  in  amaze- 
ment. "  Did  the  emperor  ever  save  you  from 
peril  ?  " 

"  Yes,  your  majesty,"  said  Blucher,  casting  a 
quick  and  fiery  glance  around  the  large  circle  of 
his  audience,  "the  Emperor  Napoleon  did  save 
ine  from  a  danger  menacing  my  life.  For,  ever 
since  the  disastrous  days  of  Tilsit,  I  was  near 
dying  of  grief  at  the  misfortunes  of  Prussia ;  and 
when  our  noble  and  august  Queen  Louisa  died — 
our  queen,  who  was  so  true  and  patriotic  a  Ger- 
man lady,  and  whose  heart  had  been  broken  by 
the  calamities  that  had  befallen  Prussia — I  really 
thought  a  dagger  had  pierced  my  heart,  and  I 


would  have  to  bleed  to  death.  But  then  I  coia 
forted  myself  by  remembering  that  Napoleon  still 
lived,  and  that  I  ought  to  live,  too,  in  order  to  see 
the  day  when  the  tyrant  would  be  brought  to 
judgment,  and  I  felt  strengthened  by  the  convic- 
tion that  God  had  destined  me  to  be  the  instru- 
ment by  whom  He  wanted  to  destroy  Napoleon, 
and  that  I  was  intended  to  assist  in  delivering 
Germany  and  avenging  Queen  Louisa ;  and  this 
thought,  sire,  kept  me  alive,  invigorating  and 
strengthening  me ;  it  rendered  me  again  so  young 
and  ardent  that  I  am  yearning  for  the  fray  like  a 
war-horse  that  has  heard  the  bugle-call." 

A  murmur  of  applause  was  heard,  and  only  the 
feeling  of  awe  inspired  by  the  presence  of  the  two 
sovereigns  seemed  to  restrain  a  tumultuous  out- 
burst of  general  sympathy.  Every  one  looked 
with  proud  and  joyful  glances  now  at  the  aged 
general,  whose  noble  face  was  full  of  courage  and 
determination,  and  again  at  the  Emperor  Alexan- 
der, who  seemed  to  contemplate  the  intrepid  sol- 
dier with  a  sort  of  amazement. 

A  brief  pause  ensued,  when  the  king  approach- 
ed Madame  von  Blucher,  standing  by  the  side  of 
Scharnhorst.  "  Good-evening,  madame,"  said 
the  king,  in  a  loud  and  somewhat  harsh  voice ; 
"  please  tell  me  how  old  General  Blucher  is." 

"  Your  majesty,"  said  Madame  von  Blucher, 
making  a  profound  obeisance,  "  according  to  his 
heart  and  strength,  he  is  a  youth  ;  according  to  his 
certificate  of  birth,  he  is  seventy-one  years  old." 

"  So  old  ! "  said  the  king ;  "  Blucher  so  aged  a 
man  !  But,  it  is  true,  his  tongue  is  that  of  a  strip- 
ling." 

"  Your  majesty,"  said  Blucher,  quickly  turning, 
"  may  it  please  the  good  God  and  my  king  to  give 
me  an  opportunity  to  refute  my  certificate  of 
birth,  and  to  prove  that  I  am  a  vigorous,  coura- 
geous lad,  who  knows  how  to  use  his  sword  as 
well  as  his  tongue ! " 

"  It  is  not  sufficient,  however,  to  know  how  to 
use  the  sword  and  the  tongue,  but  one  must  know, 
too,  how  to  restrain  both,"  said  the  king,  quickly 
turning  and  beckoning  Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth 
to  his  side,  with  whom  he  commenced  chat 
ting. 


THE  BALL  AT   THE   CITY   HALL  OF  BRESLAU. 


173 


The  Emperor  Alexander  laid  his  hand  hastily 
on  Blucher' s  shoulder,  as  if  to  soften  and  restrain 
the  impending  outburst  of  the  genei^l's  anger, 
and,  looking  with  a  kind  smile  into  his  flushed 
face,  he  said  :  "  restraint  is  not  what  suits  you  ? 
Your  motto  is,  •  Always  forward  ! '  And  you  be- 
lieve it  is  time  that  all  Germany,  myself,  and  my 
army,  should  adopt  this  motto  ?  Well,  perhaps 
you  are  right,  my  dear  general.  At  all  events,  it 
will  be  seen  soon  who  are  right,  those  who  wish 
to  procrastinate,  or  those  who  are  in  favor  of  im- 
mediate and  decisive  action." 

He  nodded  pleasantly  to  Blucher,  and  then 
called  General  Scharnhorst  to  his  side,  turning, 
like  the  king,  back  to  the  audience-room.  The 
guests  who  had  crowded  in  breathless  silence 
into  the  middle  of  the  hall,  dispersed  again  and 
returned  to  the  adjoining  rooms.  Blucher  es- 
corted his  wife  to  the  gallery  occupied  by  ladies, 
and  then  followed  the  burgomasters,  who  had 
solicited  the  honor  of  conducting  him  to  the  sup- 
per-room. 

Frederick  William's  brow  was  gloomy  and 
clodded,  and  he  was  even  graver  and  more  ret- 
icent than  usual.  He  retired  into  the  back- 
ground of  the  room,  addressing  only  now  and 
then  a  few  quick  words  to  Field-Marshal  Kal- 
kreuth,  who  stood  by  his  side.  Alexander's 
countenance  was  serene  and  pleasant,  and  a  smile 
played  round  his  lips  while  he  conversed  ea_'c:ly 
with  General  Seliarnhorst. 

"  You  say,  then,  that  Stein  is  of  the.  same 
opinion  ?  "  asked  Alexander,  thoughtfully.  "  He 
thinks,  too,  that  General  Blucher  should  be  pre- 
fcrred- 

,  sire,"  said  Scharnhorst,  "this  is  the 
opinion  of  Minister  von  Stein,  and,  I  may  add, 
the  opinion  of  every  Prussian  who  has  the  happi- 
ness and  of  the  fatherland  at  heart. 
Sire,  those  who  are  in  favor  of  a  tftiid  and  vacil- 
lating policy,  who  would  like  to  ni-::otiate  and 
i-  iiMpromis.-,  who  .-till  believe  in  the  possibility 
of  a  reconciliation  with  France,  who  still  think 
tiiat  the  pen  should  smoothcn  the  rugged  path 
before  us,  or  unravel  the  knot  of  our  difficulties — 
taose  cowardly,  grovelling  heatts  are  the  real  ene- 


mies of  our  cause,  and  more  dangerous  than  Xa- 
poleon  with  all  his  armies.  For  they  are  weigh- 
ing down  our  courage,  paralyzing  our  arms,  and 
stifling  our  enthusiasm.  But  for  them  the  king, 
who,  in  his  modesty,  is  utterly  unaware  how  fiery 
a  soul,  how  great  a  heart  he  is  possessed  of,  would 
have  long  since  concluded  an  alliance  with  your 
majesty.  But  the  king  is  unfortunately  so  mod- 
est that  he  distrusts  himself,  and  subordinates  his 
own  opinion  to  that  of  his  old  and,  as  he  believes, 
well-tried  and  faithful  advisers.  Now,  these  ad- 
visers are  to  blame  for  all  the  misfortunes  of 
Prussia ;  they  inveigled  us  into  the  alliance  with 
France  ;  they  caused  us  to  adhere  to  it,  and  would 
even  now  like  to  force  us  back  into  it.  They 
would  stifle  the  fire  of  patriotism  because  they 
are  afraid  lest  it  annihilate  them  and  destroy 
their  unworthy  efforts.  For  this  reason  Blncher, 
with  his  heroic  soul,  is  as  much  an  eyesore  to 
them  as  Stein,  with  his  plans  of  liberation  and  his 
energetic  action  for  constitutional  reform.  One 
wishes  to  create  a  new  Prussia,  the  other  a  new 
state,  and  both  these  ideas  are  utterly  distasteful 
to  some,  for  they  cling  to  the  rotten  old  system, 
and  new  things  fill  them  with  terror." 

Alexander  listened  to  the  words  of  Scharnhorst 
with  the  liveliest  attention,  and  looked  down 
musingly. 

"  Listen,  general ! "  he  said,  in  a  low  and  hur- 
ried voice,  glancing  around  the  room  as  if  to  con- 
vince himself  that  no  one  could  overhear  his 
words,  "  reply  honestly  and  sincerely  to  the  fol- 
lowing question:  Is  the  King  of  Prussia  suf- 
ficiently strong  to  cope  with  France  for  any 
length  of  time  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Scharnhorst,  firmly.  "The  army 
the  king  could  place  in  the  field  would  not  be 
able  to  achieve  a  single  victory  over  Napoleon. 
But  the  Prussian  nation  is  strong,  and  arming 
itself  for  a  struggle  in  which  it  will  triumph,  bt 
cans.-  no  army  can  resist  the  will  of  a  unitco 
pi -ot ilc,  and  because  God  is  an  ally  of  the  nation* 
fighting  for  their  liberty  and  their  princes;  but 
be  who  is  audacious  enough  to  endeavor  to  stifla 
the  flame  of  this  national  enthusiasm,  instead  of 
bearing  it  aloft  like  an  oriflamme  in  the  van  of 


174 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


the  great  army  of  liberation,  would  render  him- 
self guilty  of  a  fearful  sin.  Prussia  will  conquer 
with  her  whole  people,  but  she  will  succumb  if 
she  relies  only  on  her  army." 

"  It  is  true,"  said  Alexander,  thoughtfully, 
"  the  Prussian  nation  has  manifested  of  late  a  won- 
derful enthusiasm,  and  has  risen  as  one  man.  It 
lias  risen  for  its  king  and  its  honor,  And — do  you 
not  believe  that  it  will  fight  equally  well  for  botn, 
whether  Tauentzien,  Kalkreutb,  or  Blucher,  be  its 
chieftain  ?  " 

"No,  sire,"  said  Scharnhorst,  quickly;  "I 
know  that  it  will  not.  The  people,  with  their 
quick  and  unerring  instinct,  know  those  very 
well  in  whom  they  may  confide,  and  I  request 
your  majesty  to  take  graciously  into  consider- 
ation that  it  is  this  time  the  people  that  must 
render  Prussia  victorious.  It  is  true,  the  regi- 
ments of  volunteers  that  have  already  been  or- 
ganized would  not  disband,  even  though  Kal- 
kreuth  or  Tauentzien  should  be  appointed  gen- 
eral-in-chief  of  the  Prussian  or  Silesian  army,  but 
the  regiments  that  have  not  yet  been  organized 
and  equipped  will  hesitate  and  retire,  unless  they 
know  that  a  general  will  command  them  who  has 
sworn  unending  hatred  to  the  Emperor  Napo- 
leon, and  who  will  die  a  thousand  times  on  the 
battle-field  rather  than  conclude  peace  and  a  new 
alliance  with  him.  Now,  such  a  general  is  Blu- 
cher, the  youth  of  seventy,  a  modern  knight 
'  without  fear  and  without  reproach.'  If  he 
stands  at  the  head  of  our  army,  the  Prussian 
people  will  rally  exultiugly  round  the  standards, 
and  the  diminished  regiments  be  replaced  by  new 
ones  that  will  rush  into  the  field,  because  they 
know  that  there  is  at  their  head  a  hero  in  whose 
breast  there  is  room  for  only  two  sentiments — 
love  of  country  and  hatred  of  the  French ;  and 
who  serves,  without  fear,  his  God,  his  l:ing,  and 
his  fatherland,  impelled  by  this  very  hatred  and 
love,  without  any  secondary  motives — nay,  per- 
haps, even  without  personal  ambition." 

"  If  Bluche\  is  really  such  a  hero  as  you  de- 
pict him,"  cried  Alexander,  "  it  would  be  a  crime 
not  to  place  him  at  the  head  of  the  Silesian  army. 
Had  you  told  the  king  all  you  have  told  me,  he 


would  certainly  not  have  hesitated  a  moment  as 
to  the  general  who  should  be  appointed  com- 
mander-in-chief." 

"  Sire,  I  did  tell  him  all  that  my  heart  and  my 
head  prompted  me,  and  to-day  at  noon  I  was  still 
convinced  that  the  king  would  appoint  General 
Blucher  as  soon  as  he  should  have  satisfied  him- 
self that  he  thereby  would  not  act  contrary  to 
the  will  and  wishes  of  your  majesty.  But  the 
little  scene  at  the  hall  a  few  minutes  ago  has  un- 
fortunately shaken  my  conviction,  for  the  king 
seemed  offended  at  the  rough  and  somewhat  im- 
petuous bearing  of  the  hussar  general." 

"  And  this  very  bearing  of  the  hussar  general, 
as  you  call  Blucher,  has  impressed  me  very  favor- 
ably,  for  he  who  relies  so  firmly  on  his  own 
strength  must  feel  sure  of  victory.  I  like  to  see, 
towering  above  the  crowd  of  the  fawning  cour- 
tiers surrounding  us,  men  who  do  not  bend  their 
backs,  nor  sink  into  the  dust,  before  our  so-called 
'  divine  rights,'  but  who  stand  erect,  and  fear  no 
one,  because  they  are  true  to  themselves." 

"  If  that  is  the  opinion  of  your  majesty,  then  I 
am  at  liberty  to  confess  that  I  share  it,"  said  a 
voice  behind  him  ;  and  when  the  emperor  turned, 
he  met  the  smiling  gaze  of  the  king,  who  had  ap- 
proached during  the  conversation  with  Scharn- 
horst, and,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  interrupt  it, 
listened  to  its  conclusion  without  being  noticed  by 
the  two  speakers. 

"  What ! "  asked  Alexander,  offering  his  hand 
to  the  king.  "  Your  majesty,  then,  is  of  my 
opinion  —  you  like,  too,  the  men  who  sometime? 
allow  us  to  see  their  brow  instead  of  their  reve 
rentially-bent  back,  and  who  tell  us  the  truth  in- 
stead of  those  eternal,  perfumed  flatteries  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  sire,"  said  the  king,  gently  bowing 
his  head.  "It  is  true,  the  truth  is  sometimes 
a  somewhat  bitter  medicine,  but  it  restores  oui 
health,  while ^weet  flatteries  spoil  our  taste  and 
ruin  our  stomach." 

"  And  we  must  really  have  a  healthy  stomach 
to  digest  the  hard  fare  of  these  tunes ! "  exclaimed 
Alexander,  smiling.  "Scharnhorst  thinks  that 
Blucher  would  be  a  good  phjsician  for  our  stem 
achs.  That  is  your  opinion,  general,  is  it  not  i  " 


THE  APPOINTMENT. 


175 


"  Sire,  he  is  at  least  a  physician  who  will  not 
resort  to  palliatives,"  said  Scharnhorst,  "  but  will 
immediately  try  to  eradicate  the  evil  by  a  thor- 
ough operation." 

"  But  I  have  been  told  that  a  great  many  pa- 
tients have  died  in  consequence  of  operations, 
when  they  might  have  lived  a  long  time  if  they 
had  borne  their  ills  with  patience  and  resigna- 
tion," said  the  king,  growing  again  gloomy  and 
thoughtful. 

The  emperor  laid  his  hand  on  the  shoulder  of 
his  royal  friend.  "But  who  would  prefer  a  life 
on  the  sick-bed  to  the  quick  and  glorious  death 
of  a  hero  on  the  field  of  honor?"  he  said,  feel- 
ingly. "  Not  you,  my  august  friend,  I  know ;  and 
t  even  better  than  to  me  it  is  known  to  the  angel 
who  is  hovering  over  you,  and  whose  earthly  eyes 
were  closed  in  grief.  But,"  Alexander  interrupted 
himself,  "  these  are  thoughts  that  are  unsuitable 
for  a  festival,  and  I  beg  your  majesty's  pardon  for 
having  ventured  to  indulge  in  them." 

"  Still,  they  are  the  thoughts  that  always  ac- 
company and  never  leave  me,  sire,"  said  the  king. 
"  True,  I  have  overcome  my  grief,  but  I  will  never 
learn  to  forget.  At  the  present  time  I  am  think- 
ing of  my  Louisa  with  redoubled  longing.  How 
her  heart  would  have  rejoiced  over  the  renewal  of 
an  alliance  which  she  so  fervently  desired,  and 
how  the  noble  spirit  of  the  nation  would  have  de- 
lighted and  inspired  her  !" 

"  The  noble  queen,  I  believe,  was  also  a  warm 
friend  of  General  Blucher,  was  she  not  ?  "  asked 
the  emperor,  after  a  pause.  "  I  believe  she  be- 
longed to  those  who  expected  a  great  deal  from 
him,  and  thought  him  a  hero  and  a  powerful  ene- 
my of  Napoleon  ?  Is  it  not  so,  sire  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  king,  thoughtfully,  "  the  queen 
had  a  great  regard  for  Blucher,  and  considered 
him  a  brave  and  faithful  patriot." 

"And  what  did  she  think  of  Field-Marshal 
Kiukreuth?"  asked  Alexander,  with  seeming 
carelessness.  "  Did  he  belong  to  those,  too,  in 
whom  the  queen  confided,  and  from  whom  she 
uxpccted  the  salvation  of  the  fatherland  ?  " 

The  king  quickly  looked  up  and  met  for  a 
moment  the  searching  gaze  which  the  emperor 


fixed  on  him.  Frederick  William  smiled,  and 
inclined  his  head,  as  if  he  well  understood  the 
emperor's  question.  "No,"  he  said,  "Queen 
Louisa  rarely  approved  of  the  views  of  the  field- 
marshal,  and  although  she  felt  high  esteem  for 
the  general  who  had  already  shown  himself  a 
brave  man  under  the  great  Frederick,  she  did  not 
agree  with  the  predilection  he  manifested  for  the 
Emperor  Napoleon  and  his  invincible  armies." 

"A  predilection,"  exclaimed  Alexander,  smil- 
ing, "  which  I  believe  the  field-marshal  has  not 
yet  got  rid  of,  notwithstanding  the  experience 
which  Napoleon  gained  on  the  battle-fields  of 
Russia." 

"  On  the  same  battle-fields  on  which  your  ma- 
jesty gathered  new  laurels,"  said  the  king,  bowing 
slightly. 

"And  now  there  will  spring  up  real  laurel- 
woods  for  your  majesty  here  in  Germany!"  ex- 
claimed the  emperor.  "  The  only  question  for  us 
now  is,  to  find  the  right  sort  of  gardener  who 
knows  how  to  cultivate  them.  But,  I  repeat, 
our  thoughts  are  not  suitable  to  this  festival 
Come,  sire,  permit  me  to  offer  you  my  arm  aa 
your  cavalier,  and  to  conduct  you  to  the  buffet, 
for  how  exalted  soever  our  position  may  be,  we 
must  not  forget  that  we  are  men,  and  that  our 
stomachs  sometimes  need  food." 

lie  offered  his  arm  to  the  Icing,  and  conducted 
him  to  the  small  supper-hall  adjoining  the  au- 
dience-room. The  gentlemen  who  were  present 
followed  them,  and  the  chamberlains  hurried  to 
the  sideboard  to  have  supper  served  up  to  the  two 
sovereigns. 


CHAPTER     XXX. 

THE    APPOINTMENT. 

ALEXANDER  took  a  seat  by  the  king's  side  at 
the  small  table,  loaded  with  a  heavy  gold  service, 
set  for  them  alone  near  the  door,  which  was  cov- 
ered with  a  heavy  porttire,  and  led  into  the  large 
supper-hall.  The  emperor  and  the  king  had  just , 


1Y6 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


put  upon  their  plates  some  of  the  appetizing 
pAte  de  foie  gras  which  the  master  of  ceremonies 
himself  had  served  up,  and  were  proceeding  like 
other  mortals  to  consume  them  with  great  relish. 
The  cavaliers,  improving  the  opportune  moment 
of  silence,  stood  about  the  room  and  partook  of 
the  viands  taken  from  the  sideboard.  Suddenly 
this  silence  was  interrupted  by  a  voice  which  was 
not  uttered  in  the  room  itself,  but  swept  through 
it  like  the  blast  of  a  trumpet :  "  If  this  hesitation 
and  vacillation  continue,  all  is  lost ;  and  it  would 
then  be  better  for  us  to  throw  ourselves  imme- 
diately at  the  feet  of  Bonaparte,  and  crave  quar- 
ter, than  unnecessarily  spill  the  precious  blood  of 
the  people,  and  at  last  submit.  He  who  does  not 
advance  goes  backward  without  noticing  it,  and 
he  who  is  not  courageous  enough  to  attack,  is 
vanquished  even  before  his  adversary  has  forced 
him  to  battle." 

"  Why,"  exclaimed  Alexander,  smiling,  "  these 
are  sentences  that  remind  me  of  General  Blu- 
cher." 

"Your  majesty  is  right,  it  is  his  voice,"  said 
the  king ;  "  he  will  give  vent  to  his  indignation, 
and,  perhaps,  at  our  expense.  Let  us  not  listen 
to  him." 

"On  the  contrary,  I  beg  your  majesty's  kind 
permission  to  listen,"  said  Alexander,  pleasantly. 
"  There  is  in  the  words  of  the  general  something 
that  is  as  refreshing  as  a  pure  wind  dispelling  un- 
healthy vapors.  Ah,  hear  him,  sire ;  his  tones 
are  roaring  like  a  hurricane." 

In  fact,  the  voice  in  the  adjoining  room  had 
grown  more  violent,  and  the  Emperor  Alexan- 
der was  seated  in  such  a  manner  that  he  could 
distinctly  hear  every  word  uttered : 

"What!  you  really  believe  it  to  be  possible 
that  they  will  appoint  Field-Marshal  Kalkreuth 
general-in-chief,  and  intrust  our  young  and  splen- 
did army  to  him  ?  Great  Heaven !  do  they  not 
know,  then,  that  Kalkreuth,  however  excellent  a 
man  and  brave  a  soldier  he  may  be,  is  not  fit  to 
confront  Napoleon  ?  Is  it  not  a  matter  of  noto- 
riety that  the  field-marshal  loves  and  admires 
Bonaparte,  and  that  he  considers  a  rupture  with 
France  a  great  calamity  for  Prussia  ?  How  could 


he  ever  win  a  battle  who  could  never  look 
straight  forward  at  the  battle-field,  but  would 
squint  sideways  to  see  what  faces  Napoleon 
would  make,  and  whether  he  would  not  frown  at 
the  audacity  of  the  Prussians,  who  dare  try  to  de- 
feat the  great  Napoleon  ?  We  need  a  man  with  a 
direct  look — one  who  fixes  both  his  eyes  on  the 
object.  We  do  not  want  any  schielwippen  I 
They  may  all  go  to  the  mischief,  for  one  never 
knows  what  they  are  about  I  I  repeat,  we  need  a 
man  with  a  straight  look  !  " 

"What  is  that?  schielwippen?"  inquired  the 
emperor,  smiling.  "  I  thought  I  had  learned  the 
German  language  pretty  thoroughly  from  my 
mother  and  my  wife,  both  of  whom  have  the 
honor  of  being  natives  of  Germany,  but  I  have 
never  heard  this  word  from  them.  Pray,  sire, 
tell  me  what  it  means." 

"I  must  confess  that  I  do  not  understand  it 
either,"  said  the  king,  shrugging  his  shoulders. 

"  General  Scharnhorst ! "  cried  the  emperor. 
"  Pray  can  you  tell  us  what  schielwippen  means  ?  " 

"Sire,"  said  Scharnhorst,  laughing,  "it  is  a 
slang  term  for  a  man  who  squints.  General  Blu- 
cher  likes  to  use  the  language  of  the  people." 

"  Well,  the  Prussian  people  have  recently  used 
such  grand  and  magnificent  language,"  said  Al- 
exander, "  that  we  may  say  with  heart-felt  con- 
viction, *  Vox  populi  vox  Dei ! '  and  that  it  reflects 
great  credit  on  Blucher,  if  it  is  true  that  he 
speaks  like  the  people.  But,  hush  !  what  does 
he  say  now  ?  " 

"The  cowards  have  brought  all  our  misfortunes 
upon  us ! "  thundered  Blucher's  powerful  voice. 
41  The  hesitating  men  who  always  wish  to  patch 
up  and  stop  the  holes,  instead  of  tearing  down 
the  old  ruin  and  building  a  new  house,  are  ou.- 
curse,  and  have  always  involved  Prussia  in  un 
told  calamities.  When  I  think  of  them  I  would 
like  to  have  them  here,  to  treat  them  as  Jahn 
treated  the  other  day  one  of  Jhe  Turners  at  Ber- 
lin. Do  you  know  the  story  ?  " 

"  No,"  shouted  several  voices,  "  we  unfortu- 
nately do  not." 

"  Well,  I  will  tell  it  to  you.  Jahu  went  with 
his  pupils  down  the  Linden  to  the  Brandenburg 


THE  APPOINTMENT. 


177 


gate  to  perform  the  usual  gymnastic  exercises  on 
the  drill-grounds  outside  the  city.  On  the  way 
he  happened  to  cast  his  eyes  on  the  gate,  where 
the  Victoria  formerly  stood,  and  which  the  French 
stole  and  carried  off  to  Paris.  Jahn,  like  every 
honest  man  who  looks  at  the  gate,  felt  his 
heart  swell  with  anger.  He  turned  to  the  boy 
who  was  marching  by  his  side  and  asked  him, 
4  What  stood  formerly  over  the  pillars  of  the 
gate?' — 'The  Victoria,'  said  the  boy. — 'Where 
is  it  now  ? '  inquired  Jahn. — '  It  is  in  Paris,  where 
the  French  carried  it,'  Jahn  asked  again,  '  What 
do  you  think  when  looking  up  to  the  vacant  place 
on  the  top  of  the  gate  ? '— « Well,'  said  the  boy, 
with  great  composure,  *  what  should  I  think  ?  I 
think  it  is  a  pity  that  the  Victoria  is  no  longer 
there.'  And  when  he  said  so,  Jahn  lifted  up  his 
hand  and  slapped  the  boy's  face.  '  You  should 
think  that  we  will  fetch  back  the  Victoria,  you 
monkey ! '  he  shouted.  That  is  the  whole  story, 
but  I  remember  it  whenever  I  see  these  dear 
tame  men  who  merely  say,  *  It  is  a  pity  that  we 
have  been  so  unfortunate ! '  and  whose  hearts 
feel  only  a  mild  regret  instead  of  the  most  ar- 
dent revenge.  And  then  my  hand  itches,  and  I 
would  like  to  lift  it  up,  like  Jahn,  and  slap  their 
faces." 

"Your  Blucher  is  a  splendid  hussar,"  said 
Alexander,  looking  at  the  king.  <:  I  believe  it  is 
dangerous  to  stand  before  him  when  his  htftid  is 
itching." 

"  Yea,  his  hand  has  been  itching  from  the  days 
of  Jena,"  exclaimed  the  king,  smiling.  "  He  has 
been  anxious  to  fight  ever  since.  For  this  reason 
I  gave  him  the  estate  of  Kunzendorf,  and  sent 
him  thither.  I  thought  he  would  there  quietly 
cure  himself;  but  it  seems  it  was  in  vain;  my 
expectations  have  been  disappointed.  I  believe 
his  hand  is  incurable." 

"Your  majesty,  therefore,  had  better  yield  to 
him,  and  allow  him  to  fight,"  said  Alexander, 
almost  entreatinglv.  "The  opportunity  is  excel- 
lent at  the  present  time.  If  you  place  him  at  the 
head  of  the  Silesian  army,  he  will  no  longer  slap 
;he  faces  of  his  friends  and  neighbors  on  the  right 

*nd  left,  but  will  rush  forward  and  stretch  out 
12 


h?s  itching  hand  to  deal  the  French  terrible 
blows." 

"  I  am  only  afraid  he  would  be  too  rash  in  his 
wild  hussar  spirit,"  said  the  king,  "and  spoil 
every  thing  by  trying  to  tear  down  all  barriers." 

"A  man  should  be  placed  by  his  side  who 
knows  how  to  check  his  boldness,"  exclaimed 
Alexander — "  a  man  who  does  not  stifle  Blucher'a 
ardor,  but  gives  it  the  true  direction." 

"  But  where  shall  we  find  such  a  one  ?  " 

"I  believe  your  majesty  may  find  him  close 
by,"  said  Alexander,  pointing  to  Scharnhorst, 
who  was  leaning  against  the  portiere. 

"  Ah,  sire,"  cried  the  king,  almost  merrily,  "  I 
believe  you  are  a  magician,  and  understand  my 
most  secret  thoughts.  Scharnhorst  has  a  great 
mind,  and  I  owe  him  much.  If  he  would  take 
upon  himself  that  difficult  and  ungrateful  part  by 
the  side  of  Blucher,  I  believe  the  general's  im- 
petuosity would  be  less  dangerous." 

"  Your  majesty,  please  ask  him  whether  he  will 
or  not,"  said  Alexander. 

The  king  called  Scharnhorst  to  his  side.  "  You 
have  influence  over  General  Blucher,  have  you 
not  ?  "  he  asked,  hastily. 

"  I  may  say,  at  least,  your  majesty,  that  Gen- 
oral  Blucher  is  convinced  of  my  love  and  devo 
tion,  and  that  he  confides  a  little  in  me." 

"  Could  you  make  up  your  mind  to  occupy  a 
secondary  position  by  his  side,  and,  if  I  should 
appoint  Blucher  general-in-chief  of  the  Silesian 
army,  become  his  chief  of  staff?  " 

"Your  majesty,"  exclaimed  Scharnhorst,  "I 
would  deem  it  a  great  honor  to  serve  under  the 
heroic  old  man,  and  I  am  certain  that  with  him  I 
would  enter  upon  a  glorious  career,  particularly 
if  your  majesty  should  grant  me  a  request." 

"What  is  it?    Speak!" 

"  If  your  majesty  should  condescend  to  place 
General  Gneisenau,  who  will  arrive  to-morrow,  ai 
quartermaster-general." 

The  king  nodded.  "  You  have  selected  a  noble 
companion,"  he  said,  smiling. 

"  It  will  be  a  splendid  trefoil,  it  seems  to  me," 
cried  the  emperor.  "  Blucher,  Scharnhorst,  and 
Gneisenau  !  They  are  three  well-sounding  names  t 


178 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


But  listen,  sire,  Blucher  is  still  thundering.  There 
is  a  way  to  calm  this  tempest." 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  the  king,  smiling. 

"  Your  majesty  ought  to  be  so  gracious  as  to 
send  for  General  Blucher,  and  tell  him  that  you 
wish  to  confer  upon  him  the  command-in-chief  of 
the  Silesian  army." 

"  You  advise  me  to  do  so,  sire  ?  "  inquired  the 
king.  "  Your  majesty,  in  counselling  this,  gives 
up  no  wish  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  do,"  said  Alexander,  smiling.  "I 
should  wish  to  see  General  Tauentzien  appointed 
commauder-in-chief,  just  as  your  majesty  probably 
would  prefer  to  bestow  this  position  on  Field- 
Marshal  Kalkreuth.  Let  us  both,  therefore, 
sacrifice  our  wishes  to  the  great  object  for  which 
I  now  believe  Blucher  to  be  the  proper  instru- 
ment." 

"  So  let  it  be,  your  majesty,"  exclaimed  the 
king.  "  I  will  send  for  Blucher."  He  beckoned 
to  Scharnhorst  to  approach  again.  "  Pray  go  and 
fetch  your  friend,  General  Blucher,"  said  the 
king,  rising,  like  the  emperor,  from  the  table. 

"  An4  I  beg  leave,  while  the  general  goes  into 
the  hall,  to  cast  a  glance  into  the  next  room,  to 
see  what  Blucher  is  doing,"  said  the  emperor. 
"  Now  draw  the  portiere  back,  General  Scharn- 
horst, and  stand  there.  In  this  way  I  am  able  to 
survey  the  whole  hall." 

Scharnhorst,  in  accordance  with  the  emperor's 
order,  opened  the  portiere  and  stood  in  it ;  by 
his  side,  shaded  by  the  curtain,  stood  the  emperor 
and  the  king.  Both  gazed  into  the  supper-hall, 
which  presented  a  highly  animated  spectacle.  At 
all  the  small  tables  sat  the  guests  in  attractive 
groups,  the  ladies  in  their  rich  toilets,  the  gentle- 
men in  their  brilliant  uniforms.  All  were  merry 
and  loquacious ;  the  choice  delicacies  had  put 
every  one  in  good  spirits;  the  fiery  wine  had 
loosened  all  tongues.  Even  the  eyes  of  the 
ladies  were  sparkling  with  a  higher  lustre,  and  a 
deeper  crimson  burned  on  their  cheeks.  But  all 
those  merry  faces  turned  frequently  toward  the 
small  table  on  one  side  of  the  hall  near  the  por- 
tiere. There  sat  General  Blucher  with  his  wife ; 
several  gentlemen  were  seated  near  him.  On  the 


table  stood  one  of  the  crystal  bowls  that  had  pre- 
viously adorned  the  handsome  sideboard,  and 
from  this  bowl,  filled  with  an  amber-colored 
liquid,  arose  a  delightful  perfume.  Blucher 
seemed  to  inhale  the  fragrance  with  pleasure, 
for  an  expression  of  infinite  comfort  beamed  from 
his  features,  and  whenever  he  emptied  his  glasa 
he  seized  the  silver  ladle  that  lay  in  the  bowl, 
and  then  drew  his  white  mustache  with  a  smile 
of  gratification  through  his  fingers,  while  his  eyes 
surveyed  the  whole  company  with  a  flashing 
glance.  Then  a  shadow  passed  across  his  brow. 
"  We  are  highly  elated  to-day,  because  we  are  at 
length  to  take  up  arms  against  our  foe,"  he  said  ; 
"  we  are  overjoyed  because  we  are  to  take  our 
revenge.  And  suppose  every  thing  should  again 
turn  out  wrong ;  suppose  the  cowards  and  the 
schielwippen  should,  after  all,  remain  at  the  helm? 
Great  Heaven  !  the  very  idea  maddens  me  !  For 
I  know  them  !  I  know  that  they  will  ruin  every 
thing.  At  the  decisive  moment  they  are  vacil- 
lating, and,  in  order  to  dishearten  others,  too, 
they  exaggerate  the  strength  of  the  enemy  a  hur  - 
dred-fold,  and  belittle  our  own  resources  in  the 
same  proportion.  Would  that  Heaven  were  t) 
decree,  '  Blucher  shall  command  the  Prussians  ! ' 
Good  Lord,  I  pledge  Thee  my  head  that  I  woul  1 
expel  Bonaparte  with  all  his  French  from  Ger- 
many, though  I  had  but  thirty  thousand  soldie 
behind  me  !"* 

"Now  call  him  in,  general,"  whispered  Alex- 
ander. Scharnhorst  stepped  into  the  hall.  The 
king  and  the  emperor  left  the  supper-hall  and  re- 
turned into  the  audience-room. 

A  few  minutes  afterward  Blucher  entered,  fol- 
lowed by  Scharnhorst,  who  remained  at  the  door, 
while  Blucher  advanced  boldly  toward  the  two 
sovereigns. 

"Your  majesty  was  so  gracious  as  to  send  for 
me,"  he  said,  bowing  to  the  king. 

"Yes,"  said  the  king,  gravely.  "I  wish  to 
sisk  you  whether  you  belong  to  the  vacillating 
cowards,  or  whether  you  are  a  whole  man  ?  " 


*  Blucher's  words.— Vide  Varnhagca, 
Cher,''  p.  186. 


Life  of 


*  t:  j~> 

^ 


I  swear  to  your  uiajcsiy,  upon  my  houor,  that  I  will  hurl  Bouaparie  from  his  throne." 


p.  179. 


THE   APPOINTMENT. 


170 


H  And  I,"  exclaimed  Alexander,  pathetically — 
1 1  wish  to  request  you  to  confess  whether  you 
are  al-*o  a  schiclwippe  ?  " 

Blucher  looked  at  the  two  sovereigns  with  a 
gloomy,  inquiring  glance.  But  suddenly  his  face 
brightened,  and  a  smile  played  round  his  lips. 
"  Ah,"  he  cried,  "  I  understand  !  Your  majesties 
have  overheard  my  prattle,  and  have  sent  for  me 
to  order  me  to  be  silent.  But  I  cannot,  your 
majesties;  I  cannot!  I  must  give  vent  to  my 
wrath,  my  vexation,  and  grief!  I  must  be  al- 
lowed to  scold,  for  if  I  did  not  I  would  be  obliged 
to  weep,  and  it  would  be  a  disgrace  for  Blucher 
to  act  like  an  old  woman  !  Let  me  scold,  then, 
your  majesties ;  it  relieves  my  heart  a  little,  and 
my  anger  teaches  me  to  forget  my  grief." 

"  You  grieve,  then,  general  ?  "  inquired  Fred- 
erick William,  smiling. 

"  Yes,  my  lord  and  king,  I  do  grieve  intensely. 
I  should  like  to  lay  my  complaint  before  your 
majesty,  and  I  will  do  so,  too.  I — " 

"  Hush  ! "  interposed  the  king,—"  hush,  my 
firebrand  of  seventy-one  years !  First  reply  to 
this  question:  would  you  like  to  be  appointed 
general-in-chief  of  the  Silesian  army  ?  " 

"  Would  I  like  to  be  appointed  general-in- 
ehief?"  cried  Blucher,  his  eyes  sparkling  with 
joy.  "  Your  majesty,  that  is  just  as  though  you 
a-k  me  whether  I  like  to  .  ve  any  longer.  For  I 
toll  your  majesty  I  will  die  at  once  rather  than  let 
any  one  else  have  that  position." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  the  king,  in  a  grave  ~nd 
dignified  tone,  "  I  appoint  you  general-in-chief  of 
the  Silesian  army.  Do  you  accept  the  position  ?  " 
Blucher  uttered  a  cry,  and  his  face  brightened 
as  if  lit  up  by  a  sunbeam.  "  I  accept  it,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  and  here  I  swear  to  your  majesty  that  I 
ehall  not  lay  down  my  command  before  Pru 
again  what  she  was  prior  to  the  battle  of  Jena, 
and  that  I  shall  not  sheathe  my  sword  before  we 
have  driven  Napoleon  beyond  the  Rhine,  and 
have  made  him  so  humble  that  he  will  never 
again  dare  to  cross  it  I  swear  to  your  majesty, 
upon  my  honor,  that  I  will  hurl  Bonaparte  from 
his  throne — that  I  will  not  rest  before  the  crown 
baa  fallen  from  his  head  !  God  has  spared  me 


that  I  may  chastise  Napoleon ;  He  has  told  me 
every  night  in  my  dreams,  '  Do  not  despond, 
do  not  lose  heart !  Keep  up  thy  courage  and 
thy  confidence,  for  I  shall  soon  need  thee ! 
Thou  shalt  soon  cut  Napoleon  down  from  his 
power,  and  throw  him  into  the  dust  whence  he 
sprang.'  And  I  have  answered,  *  I  am  on  hand, 
and  wait  only  for  the  struggle  to  begin.'  Now 
I  say  to  your  majesty  what  I  then  said,  '  I  am 
on  hand,  and  the  struggle  is  to  begin ! '  I  have 
sworn  every  day  to  chastise  Bonaparte,  and  while 
I  live  I  shall  thank  your  majesty  for  giving  me  an 
opportunity.  I  am,  then,  general-in-chief  of  the 
Silesian  army  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  appoint  you,  and  his  majesty  the  em- 
peror approves  my  selection,"  said  the  king. 
"All  necessary  directions,  instructions,  and  or- 
ders, you  will  receive  to-morrow  in  writing.  You 
will  immediately  enter  upon  your  office,  and  place 
yourself  at  the  head  of  the  troops.  Do  you  wish 
to  prefer  requests  and  impose  conditions  ?  " 

"  Yes,  your  majesty,  I  must  impose  two  condi- 
tions. In  the  first  place,  General  Schanmore 
must  be  my  chief  of  staff,  for  Blucher  is  only  half 
a  man  when  Scharnhorst  is  not  with  him.  I  have 
the  arm,  he  has  the  head  ;  therefore  we  must  be 
together." 

"Your  request  is  granted,  and  Scharnhorst 
has  already  accepted  the  position,"  said  the  king, 
smiling. 

u  Secondly,  I  must  impose  the  condition  that  I 
be  allowed  to  leave  Breslau  to-morrow  with  my 
Prussians,  and  advance  toward  Saxony." 

"  What !  You  intend  to  start  at  once  ?  "  cried 
Alexander  and  Frederick  William,  in  amazement. 

"  Yes,  at  once,"  said  Blucher,  with  a  joyful  air. 
"  The  years  of  waiting  are  past,  and  now  comes 
the  day  of  vengeance.  Like  a  thunderstorm  we 
must  burst  upon  the  French.  Before  they  expect 
us  we  must  expel  what  troops  of  theirs  remain  in 
Germany,  dissolve  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine, 
and  by  our  bold  exploits  stir  up  all  Germany  that 
she  may  rally  round  our  flag,  and  form  an  enor- 
mous army  before  Napoleon  has  concentrated  his 
newly-organized  forces.  That  is  our  ta?k,  and, 
if  it  pleases  God,  we  will  fulfil  it." 


180 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

AFTER  THE  BATTLE  OF  BAUTZEN. 

FOB  two  days  the  battle  bad  been  raging,  and 
even  now,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  22d  of  May,  the 
struggle  was  undecided.  Blucher,  who,  with  his 
Prussians,  occupied  the  heights  of  Kreckwitz, 
near  Bautzen,  still  hoped  to  achieve  a  victory. 
For  two  days  the  Prussians  and  Russians  fought 
like  lions  along  the  extended  line  of  battle ;  they 
engaged  the  hostile  legions  with  undaunted  cour- 
age and  joyful  enthusiasm,  regardless  of  the 
scorching  heat,  hunger,  thirst,  and  exhaustion. 
During  these  days  Blucher  was  constantly  in  the 
midst  of  his  troops.  Where  the  shower  of  bul- 
lets was  thickest,  where  the  danger  was  most  im- 
minent, his  voice  was  heard  inciting  the  soldiers  ; 
where  the  enemy  approached  with  his  most  for- 
midable columns,  Blucher  stood  with  his  faithful 
companion  Gneisenau  at  the  head  of  his  Prus- 
sians, brandishing  his  sword,  advancing  with  ex- 
ulting cheers  upon  the  enemy,  and  causing  him 
to  retreat. 

The  heights  of  Kreckwitz  had  to  be  held  till 
General  Barclay  de  Tolly,  with  his  Russians, 
would  arrive,  and  Generals  York  and  Kleist, 
with  their  Prussians,  to  cover  Blucher's  left  flank, 
which  was  threatened  by  Marshal  Ney.  The 
booming  of  cannon  was  incessant.  The  Russians 
stood  like  a  wall,  and  when  the  front  ranks  were 
swept  down,  others  took  their  places ;  the  living 
stepped  over  the  dying,  undaunted,  and  remem- 
bering only  one  thing — that  they  had  to  take  re- 
venge for  the  lost  battle  of  Lutzen.* 

"  Boys,"  shouted  Blucher  to  his  soldiers,  just 
as  the  balls  of  the  enemy  struck  down  whole 
ranks,  "  boys,  remember  that  we  have  resolved 
to  sabre  the  French.  They  have  exhausted  the 
soil  of  Germany,  we  must  fertilize  it  with  French 
corpses.  Remember  Gross-Gorschen,  where  they 
wounded  our  General  Scharnhorst.  We  must 
chastise  them  for  that,  and  capture  a  few  French 

*  Fought  May  2,  1813.  The  French  call  this  battle 
that  of  Lutzen ;  the  Germans  generally  that  of  Gross- 
Gorschen.  Both  sides  claimed  a  victory.  But  the  latest 
German  historians,  especially  Beitzke,  admit  that  the 
Germans  were  defeated. 


generals.*  We  must  get  at  least  four  of  their 
marshals  in  return  for  General  Scharnhorst,  for 
the  fellows  are  light,  and  four  of  them  do  not 
weigh  as  much  as  one  Scharnhorst.  Now,  tell 
me,  shall  we  get  those  four  French  marshals  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Father  Blucher,  yes !  "  shouted  the  Prus- 
sians, jubilantly.  "  Long  live  Father  Blucher ! " 

"  Only  a  little  longer,  and  the  day  is  ours  !  " 
cried  Gneisenau,  in  a  ringing  voice.  "  The  legions 
of  Marshal  Ney  are  charging  again,  but  General 
Barclay,  with  his  Russians,  has  occupied  the 
Windmill-knoll,  near  Gleime,  and  will  repulse  him 
as  we  shall  Napoleon's  columns.  The  heights  of 
Kreckwitz  are  the  Thermopylae  of  the  Prussians, 
and  we  will  fall  to  a  man  rather  than  surrender ! " 

"Yes,  that  we  will  do!"  cried  the  officers, 
enthusiastically,  and  the  soldiers  echoed  their 
shouts. 

At  this  moment  a  terrific  cannonade  resounded 
on  the  right  wing  of  the  Prussian  troops.  "  There 
are  the  French  !  "  exclaimed  Blucher.  "  Boys, 
now  bring  in  those  marshals ! "  The  cannon 
roared,  the  muskets  rattled,  and,  as  though 
heaven  desired  to  participate  in  this  struggle  of 
the  nations,  the  thunder  rolled,  and  flashes  of 
lightning  darted  into  the  clouds  of  battle-smoke. 

But  who  was  galloping  up  suddenly  on  a 
charger  covered  with  foam,  his  hair  fluttering  in 
the  breeze,  and  his  face  pale  and  terrified  ?  It 
was  a  Prussian  colonel,  and  still  he  does  not  join 
in  the  exultation  of  his  countrymen.  He  ap- 
proached Generals  Blucher  and  Gneisenau. 

"  Halloo !  Lieutenant-Colonel  von  Muffling," 
shouted  Blucher,  "  are  you  back  ?  Do  you  bring 
us  greetings  from  Barclay  de  Tolly  ?  Has  he 
finished  the  French  ?  Well,  we  are  just  about  to 
recommence  our  work  here — the  last  work  for 
to-day." 

"General,"  cried  Muffling,  anxiously,  "the 
French  will  soon  have  finished  Barclay  de  Tolly, 
and  defeated  us !  For  he  is  unable  to  hold  out. 


*  General  Scharnhorst  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Gross-GGrschen  by  Bluchcr's  side.  He  believed  his  wound 
was  not  dangerous,  but  he  left  the  headquarters  to  be 
cured.  He  went  at  first  to  Altenburg,  and  then  to  Prague, 
to  attend  the  peace  congress.  His  wound  reopened.  an<f 
he  died  at  Prague  on  the  20th  of  June.  J81&. 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE  OF  BAUTZEN. 


181 


He  has  only  fifty  thousand  men,  and  Key  is  at- 
tacking him  with  a  much  larger  force.  Barclay 
Bends  me  for  reenforcements,  and  if  we  do  not 
strengthen  his  line,  he  cannot  maintain  himself 
on  the  Windmill-knoll.  In  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
it  will  be  in  Ney's  hunds." 

"  No ;  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  Ney  will  be  in 
our  hands,"  shouted  Blucher,  confidently.  "  Ney 
is  a  marshal,  and  we  must  have  him  !  Boys,"  he 
cried,  drawing  himself  up  in  his  stirrups,  .and 
looking  back  toward  his  troops — u  boys,  we  must 
have  Marshal  Ney,  must  we  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Father  Blucher,  we  must  have  Marshal 
Ney!" 

Heaven  responded  with  a  loud  clap  of  thunder, 
the  earth  was  shaken  by  the  booming  of  the  can- 
non, the  air  was  rent  by  the  cheers  of  the  living, 
and  the  groans  and  imprecations  of  the  wounded 
and  dying.  Blucher  still  stood  with  his  Prus- 
sians on  the  heights  of  Kreckwitz,  his  face  ra- 
diant with  enthusiasm,  his  eye  flashing  with 
courage ;  but  a  warning  adviser  stood  by  his 
siie. 

"  General,"  whispered  Muffling,  "  we  are  lost 
if  we  remain  here  longer.  We  must  retreat." 

"  Retreat !  "  cried  Blucher,  in  an  angry  voice, 
and  a  clap  of  thunder  burst  at  that  moment. 

Miiffling  pointed  silently  down  into  the  plain, 
and  over  to  the  Windmill-knoll.  "  Look  yonder ! 
Napoleon  is  advancing  directly  upon  our  front, 
the  Windmill-knoll  is  evacuated,  Barclay  has 
gone,  and  the  Russians  are  routed  !  " 

"  But  we  still  stand,"  cried  Blucher,  triumph- 
antly, "  and  we  shall  stand  in  spite  of  Napoleon 
and  the  devil !  And,  then,  we  are  not  without 
gupport.  The  Russian  artillery  attached  to  our 
corpft  is  thundering  against  the  enemy,  and  York 
and  Kleist  are  covering  our  left  wing." 

"  But,  general,  listen  !  The  Russian  artillery  is 
less  rapidly;  General  Kleist  is  no  longer 
able  to  cover  our  left  wing,  for  the  sovereigns 
have  sent  him  to  Bairuth  to  cover  Barclay's  flank ; 
and  as  for  York,  he  was  unable  to  prevent  the 
enemy  from  placing  a  battery  near  Basantwitz. 
I  saw  it  when  I  rode  hither.  We  are,  therefore, 
in  a  triple  cross-fire."  And,  as  though  the  enemy 


n 
finng 


intended  to  confirm  these  warning  words,  the 
cannon  flashed  from  three  sides,  and  hurled  their 
balls  into  the  ranks  of  the  Prussians. 

The  flush  of  hoped-for  victory  paled  in  Blu- 
cher's  face ;  Gneisenau  grew  grave  and  gloomy. 
The  staff  came  nearer  to  their  chieftain,  and  tried 
to  read  his  thoughts  in  his  eyes.  The  jubilant 
shouts  of  the  soldiers  were  hushed ;  heaven  was 
still  thundering,  and  in  the  distance  burning  vil- 
lages, like  gigantic  torches,  lit  up  the  landscape, 
and  shed  a  blood-red  lustre  over  the  gray  sky. 
Blucher  looked  around  in  silence ;  his  lip  quiv- 
ered, his  eyebrows  contracted,  and  large  drops  of 
cold  perspiration  stood  on  his  forehead.  Gneise- 
nau was  by  his  side,  gloomy  and  taciturn,  like  his 
chieftain.  Behind  them  halted  the  staff-officers, 
mournful  as  their  leaders,  for  now  every  one  rec- 
ognized the  danger,  and  knew  that,  if  they  re- 
mained at  the  "Thermopylae  of  Prussia,"  they 
would  have  to  defend  themselves  to  the  last  man, 
or  lay  down  their  arms,  because,  as  soon  as  the 
enemy  closed  up  the  fourth  side,  escape  would  be 
impossible.* 

On  the  other  side  of  Blucher  halted  Colonel 
Muffling,  who  had  brought  back  such  calamitous 
tidings  from  his  reconnoissance.  He  pointed 
silently  to  the  French  columns  of  Marshal  Ney, 
that  just  commenced  climbing  the  heights,  and 
then  pulled  out  his  watch.  "We  have  fifteen 
minutes  left,"  he  said,  in  a  loud,  solemn  voice, 
"  fifteen  minutes  to  extricate  ourselves  from  the 
noose.  Afterward  we  shall  be  hemmed  in.  If 
we  do  not  improve  the  time  the  cowards  will  sur- 
render, and  the  brave  die  fighting  to  the  last, 
but  unfortunately  without  promoting  in  the  least 
the  welfare  of  the  fatherland."  f 

Blucher  did  not  reply,  gazing  down  with  a 
sombre  eye  on  the  enemy,  coming  up  in  increas- 
ing masses.  The  cannon  of  the  French,  firing 
from  three  sides,  spoke  a  disheartening  language. 
Tlie  Russian  batteries  had  ceased  firing,  for  their 
ammunition  was  exhausted. 

"  Gneisenau,"   asked   Blucher    at   last,   in    • 


*  Muffling:,  u  Aus  ineinem  Leben,'1  p.  42. 
t  Muffling'*  words.— Ibid,  p.  48, 


182 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


hollow  voice,  and  sighing,  as  though  a  stone 
weighed  down  his  breast,  "  Gneisenau,  what  do 
you  say  ?  " 

"  I  must  admit  that  Lieutenant -Colonel  von 
Muffling  is  right,"  sighed  Gneisenau.  "  Under 
the  present  circumstances  all  further  bloodshed 
will  be  useless,  and  it  is  our  bounden  duty  to 
preserve  our  men  for  a  better  opportunity.  We 
must  hasten  to  retreat."* 

A  single  savage  imprecation  burst  from  Blu- 
cher's  lips,  but  only  the  nearest  bystanders  heard 
it,  for  it  was  drowned  by  the  roar  of  artillery  and 
the  thunder  of  heaven.  With  a  quick  jerk  he 
drew  his  cap  over  his  forehead,  so  that  his  eyes 
were  shaded — those  eyes  which  had  flashed  so 
defiantly,  but  which  were  now  dim,  who  could 
say  whether  from  the  rain  that  was  pouring  down, 
or  the  smoke  of  battle,  or  from  despairing  tears  ? 
He  slowly  turned  toward  the  gentlemen  of  his 
Btaff.  "  We  must  descend,  therefore,  from  the 
heights,"  he  said,  in  a  harsh  voice.  "  Forward  ! 
March  down  the  turnpike  toward  Weissenberg. 
Make  the  enemy  at  least  pay  dearly  for  compel- 
ling us  to  retreat.  Let  the  cavalry  advance,  cov- 
ering our  retreat,  and  let  not  a  single  man  or 
standard  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  French !  Come, 
gentlemen,  listen  to  what  I  have  still  to  say  to 
you." 

The  quarter  of  an  hour  allowed  by  Muffling  had 
not  yet  elapsed  when  the  Prussians  commenced 
slowly  descending  the  heights  of  Kreckwitz,  and 
marching  down  the  turnpike  toward  Weissen- 
berg. Blucher  had  ridden  from  the  position  at  a 
brisk  trot,  with  Gneisenau  and  the  officers  of  his 
staff,  and  galloped  a  short  distance  along  the 
level  valley-road;  then  halting  suddenly,  and, 
turning  his  horse,  he  looked  up  to  the  heights, 
from  which  the  Prussians  were  descending  in 
perfect  order,  but  in  gloomy  silence.  "  This  is 
the  second  time  we  have  been  obliged  to  retreat," 
said  Blucher,  mournfully,  "  the  second  time  that 
Bonaparte  is  luckier  than  we  are;  the  block- 
heads will  now  say  again  that  Bonaparte  is  invin- 
cible, and  that  they  are  fools  who  resist  him,  God 


*  Gnelsenau's  words.—  Ibid.,  p.  43. 


being  on  his  side,  and  fortune  never  forsaking 
him.  But  I  say  it  is  false ;  the  good  God  is  not 
on  his  side,  but  the  devil  is,  and  fortune  is  only 
lulling  him  to  sleep,  to  plunge  him  the  surer  and 
deeper  into  the  abyss.  But  it  is  true,  neverthe- 
less, that  this  is  the  second  battle  we  have  lost. 
and  the  second  time  that  we  are  obstructed  in 
our  advance.  But  I  swear  here — and  may  Heaven 
record  my  oath ! — that  this  shall  be  the  last  time 
that,I  fall  back  ;  that  I  will  specially  pay  Bona- 
parte for  my  grief  and  anxiety  for  the  past  month, 
and  that  I  will  bring  him  as  much  trouble  as  one 
man  can  to  another.  What  a  fearful  account 
Bonaparte  has  to  settle  with  me !  how  much  he 
has  to  pay  me !  But,  no  matter ;  my  sword  ia 
sharp,  and  will  surely  erase  one  item  of  his  in- 
debtedness after  another.  From  this  day  I  will 
begin.  Will  you  lend  me  your  assistance,  gen- 
tlemen ?  " 

"Yes,"  replied  the  officers  of  his  staff,  "we 
will ! " 

"  Well,  then  it  is  all  right,"  said  Blucher,  nod- 
ding ;  "  from  to-day  M.  Napoleon  had  better  be- 
ware of  me.  Hitherto,  I  have  only  hated  him ; 
now  I  abhor  him,  and  the  word  backward  exists 
no  longer  for  me  and  my  Prussians ! "  He  quickly 
galloped  up  to  his  troops.  "Well,  boys,"  he 
cried,  "  the  heights  of  Kreckwitz  are  of  no  use  to 
us,  and  it  is  better  for  us,  therefore,  to  descend 
from  them,  and  leave  them  to  Bonaparte,  who 
may  put  them  into  his  pocket,  if  it  affords  him 
pleasure ;  but  henceforth  let  us  reverse  matters, 
and  put  him  into  our  pocket  and  keep  him  warm ; 
otherwise,  he  might  feel  cold  again,  as  be  did  in 
Russia.  Forward  now,  boys;  forward!  And  as 
we  are  now  moving,  I  am  sure  you  see  that  we  do 
not  move  backward  ;  he  who  asserts  that  we  are 
retreating  is  a  blockhead.  Forward  !  " 

But  whatever  Blucher  said — how  plausibly  so- 
ever he  tried  to  represent  to  his  troops  that  they 
were  not  retreating,  but  advancing — it  was  unfor- 
tunately but  too  true  that  the  battle  of  Bautzen 
was  lost,  and  that  the  Prussians  and  Russians 
were  obliged  to  fall  back.  It  is  true,  they  did  so 
in  excellent  order,  but — they  retreated,  and  Na- 
poleon could  boast  of  a  new  victory  on  German  soil 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE  OF  BAUTZEX. 


18S 


The  whole  army  of  the  allies  commenced  re- 
Ireating  about  dusk  on  the  same  day,  and  turned 
again  toward  Silesia.  The  troops  marched  sul- 
lenly, and  sombre  too  were  the  faces  of  the  two 
sovereigns,  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  King 
Frederick  William.  Full  of  hope  that  they  would 
achieve  a  victory,  they  had  taken  the  field  with 
their  troops;  but  now  their  hopes  were  blasted, 
and  they  were  compelled  to  return  whence  they 
had  set  out. 

While  the  troops  were  marching  down  the  wide 
highways,  the  two  sovereigns,  preceding  their 
forces,  took  a  short  cut  to  Reichenbach.  They 
were  alone ;  only  two  footmen  followed  them  at 
gome  distance ;  not  a  vestige  of  their  earthly  great- 
ness surrounded  them.  They  were  both  silent ; 
slowly  riding  along,  the  king  looked  grave,  while 
the  emperor  frequently  turned  his  eyes,  with  an 
expression  of  mournful  emotion,  upon  his  friend, 
or  raised  them  heavenward  with  an  entreating 
glance.  Silence  reigned  around ;  only  at  a  great 
distance  was  heard  the  dull  rumbling  of  wagons, 
and  here  and  there  on  the  horizon  still  flickered 
the  burning  ruins  of  a  village. 

For  some  time  they  thus  rode  side  by  side, 
when  the  king  stopped  his  horse.     "  There  must 
change !  "  he  exclaimed,  in  a  tone  of  grief 
despair.     "  We  are  moving  eastward,  but  we 
must  advance  westward." 

"  We  must  all  move  eastward,"  said  the  em- 
peror, in  a  deep,  fervent  tone;  "from  the  east 
cam«  our  salvation;  eastward,  therefore,  every 
good  Christian  turns  his  face  whenever  he  prays 
for  assistance  and  redemption." 

The  king,  perhaps,  did  not  hear  these  words, 
for  he  made  no  reply,  but  looked  moody  and 
thoughtful.  Both  did  not  notice  that  the  sky 
had  brightened,  and  that  the  sun  in  its  splendor 
as  shedding  its  setting  beams.  It  was  a  beautiful 
ening.  The  earth,  refreshed  by  the  rain,  ex- 
haled sweet  odors  ;  the  air  was  fresh  and  balmy, 
and  the  blooming  nVliJs  waved  as  a  gentle  sea. 
The  sovereigns  were  too  much  concerned  with 
themselves  to  be  attracted  by  the  beauties  of  out- 
ward nature.  Their  eyes  were  turned  inward. 
"Oh,"  resumed  the  king,  after  a  pause,  "what 


=2 


TV  a 

ev< 

Kol 


will  be  the  end  of  all  this  ?  Were  not  they  right 
who  cautioned  me  against  this  war,  and  pointed 
to  Napoleon's  luck  in  order  to  prevent  me  from 
entering  upon  it?  Have  not  my  troops  done  all 
that  can  be  demanded  of  human  strength  ?  Have 
they  not  braved  with  heroic  resolution  all  fatigues 
and  privations,  and  behaved  in  battle  with  un- 
surpassed valor?  Have  not  the  Russians  also 
manifested  the  noblest  devotion,  and  the  most  in 
trepid  constancy?  And  still  our  armies  have 
been  defeated  in  two  pitched  battles — and  still 
we  are  retreating ?  What  have  we  to  hope  for? 
What  new  resources  have  we?  May  we  still 
hope  for  the  accession  of  Austria  to  our  alli- 
ance ?  " 

He  uttered  these  questions  in  an  undertone  and 
thoughtfully,  as  if  to  himself,  and  forgetful  of  the 
presence  of  another  who  could  hear  him.  When 
the  emperor,  therefore,  replied  to  him,  Frederick 
William  gave  a  start,  and  raised  his  head  almost 
in  surprise. 

"  No,"  said  the  emperor,  gravely — "  no,  we 
must  not  count  on  Austria ;  or,  if  you  please,  not 
yet.  The  mission  of  Count  Stadion  ought  to  have 
proved  this  to  us.  They  sent  their  diplomatist 
to  treat  with  us  that,  in  case  of  a  victory,  we 
might  not  consider  Austria,  too,  as  our  enemy. 
Now,  that  we  have  not  been  victorious,  Count 
Stadion  will  undoubtedly  leave  our  headquarters, 
repair  to  those  of  Napoleon,  and  assure  him  ot 
the  most  faithful  and  sincere  devotion  of  Austria. 
Austria  desires  only  negotiation — to  fight  with 
words,  not  with  the  sword." 

"  But,  without  Austria,"  cried  the  king,  vehe- 
mently, "  we  are  too  weak  !  Oh,  at  times  it  seems 
to  me  as  though  no  human  strength  were  able  to 
accomplish  any  thing  against  the  surpassing  ge- 
nius of  Napoleon,  and  as  though  God  alone,  who 
made  him  so  great,  and  raised  him  so  high,  could 
humble  him  !  We  have  done  all  that  men  could 
do,  but  it  is  all  in  vain  !  He  has  conquered  !  " 

"  But  we  have  made  him  purchase  his  victories 
very  dearly,"  said  Alexander,  "  and  if  we  yielded, 
it  was  at  least  with  honor.  None  of  our  battalions 
were  dispersed,  and  I  believe  the  number  of  pris- 
oners is  about  the  same  on  both  sides.  On  the 


184 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCDER. 


whole,  nothing  is  lost  as  yet,  and  with  God's  help 
we  will  soon  do  better." 

"Yes,  but  only  with  God's  help,"  cried  the 
King;  "  we  need  it  above  all;  without  it  we  are 
lost." 

**  But  God  is  with  us,"  exclaimed  Alexander, 
enthusiastically,  "I  know  it ;  I  have  gained  this 
finn  conviction  ever  since  the  great  and  terrible 
days  of  Moscow  and  the  Beresina.  God  sent  me 
those  days  of  trial  and  terror  that  I  might  be- 
lieve— and  now  I  do  believe.  Until  then  I  was 
a  man  enthralled  by  worldly  doubts,  relying 
upon  my  own  strength,  and  rejoicing,  not  with- 
out vanity,  in  my  earthly  greatness.  I  thought 
of  God,  I  loved  Him,  but  He  did  not  fill  my 
whole  soul — I  pursued  my  own  path,  and  di- 
verted myself.  But  the  conflagration  of  Moscow 
illuminated  my  mind,  and  the  judgment  of  the 
Lord  on  the  ice-fields  filled  my  heart  with  a 
fervor  of  faith  which  it  had  never  felt  until 
then.  With  the  flames  of  the  holy  city  the  hand 
of  God  wrote  on  the  reddened  sky,  'I  am  the 
Lo-d  thy  God ! '  With  the  rivers  of  blood  flow- 
ing from  the  grand  army  of  the  French,  the  finger 
of  the  Lord  wrote  on  the  snow-fields,  '  Thou  shalt 
have  no  other  gods  before  me  ! '  Since  then  there 
is  a  wonderful  joy,  an  indescribable  humility, 
and  an  immovable  faith  in  my  heart — since  then 
I  have  become  another  man.  To  the  deliverance 
01  Europe  from  utter  ruin  I  owe  my  own  soul's 
salvation."  * 

"  It  is  He  alone  who  is  able  to  deliver  us,"  said 
the  king,  profoundly  moved ;  "  I  bow  my  head  in 
humility,  and  confess  that  we  are  nothing  without 
Him.  May  He  send  us  His  support ! " 

"He  will,"  exclaimed  Alexander,  fervently; 
"  God  will  be  with  us,  for  we  are  engaged  in  a 
just  cause ! " 

"  Yes,  it  is  just,"  responded  Frederick  William, 
with  deep  emotion,  and,  slowly  raising  his  eyes, 
he  whispered,  "  Pray  for  us,  Louisa,  that  we  may 
conquer ! " 

Both  were  silent,  and,  with  pious  emotion, 
they  lifted  their  hearts  to  heaven.  Suddenly  a 


*  The   emperor's    words. — Vide   Eylert,    "Frederick 
William  III  "  vol.,  ii,  p.  248. 


joyful  gleam  kindled  the  face  of  the  king,  and, 
offering  his  hand  to  Alexander,  he  said  in  a  deeply- 
moved  tone,  "  We  must  not  despond,  but  cour- 
ageously continue  the  struggle.  If  God,  as  I  hope, 
bless  our  united  efforts,  we  will  profess  before 
the  whole  world  that  the  glory  belongs  to  Him 
alone."  * 

;'Yes,"  cried  Alexander,  putting  his  right 
hand  into  that  of  his  friend.  "Let  us  not  be 
ashamed  to  declare  that  the  glory  belongs  to 
God.  And  now,  my  friend,"  exclaimed  the  em- 
peror, when  they  halted,  "let  us  repair  to  our 
headquarters,  and  hold  a  council  of  war  with  our 
generals." 

"Very  well,"  replied  Frederick  William ;  "let 
us  examine  the  strength  of  our  forces,  and  see 
what  ought  to  be  done.  The  battle  of  Bautzen 
must  not  be  the  end  of  this  war." 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

BAD   NEWS. 

A  MOMENT  of  repose  had  interrupted  the  great 
contest.  Napoleon  had  offered  an  armistice  to  the 
allies  prior  to  the  battle  of  Bautzen ;  they  re- 
jected it,  full  of  confidence  in  their  strength.  After 
the  battle  of  Bautzen,  the  offer  was  repeated,  and 
accepted.  Time  was  needed  for  levying  additional 
troops,  organizing  new  regiments,  and  concen- 
trating new  corps.  But  Napoleon,  deceived  by 
his  victories,  relying  on  his  good  luck,  and  on  the 
mistakes  of  his  enemies,  was  fully  satisfied  that 
this  armistice  was  but  the  forerunner  of  peace ; 
and  that  the  allies,  warned  by  the  two  lost  battles, 
would  be  eager  to  accept  any  peace  not  altogether 
dishonorable.  The  negotiations  were  opened  at 
Prague.  France,  Prussia,  and  Russia,  sent  their 
plenipotentiaries  to  that  city;  and  Austria,  having 
taken  upon  herself  the  part  of  a  mediator,  in- 
structed her  envoy,  Minister  Metternich,  to  parti- 
cipate in  the  congress.  The  armistice  was  from 

*  The  king's  words.— Vide  Eylert, "  Frederick  WU 
Ham  HI.,1'  vc..  ii.,  p.  24& 


BAD   NEWS. 


185 


ihe  4th  of  June  to  the  24th  of  July — time  enough 
for  agreeing  on  a  peace  equally  advantageous  to 
both  sides — time  enough,  too,  in  case  it  should 
not  be  concluded,  to  concentrate  the  armies  and 
bring  reinforcements  from  France. 

So  soon  as  the  armistice  was  signed,  Napoleon 
returned  to  Dresden,  to  await  there  the  result  of 
the  negotiations.  At  the  Marcolini  Palace  the 
emperor  again  established  his  headquarters  ;  but 
no  brilliant  festivals  were  given,  as  previous  to 
his  expedition  to  Russia ;  the  kings  and  princes 
of  Germany  did  not  gather  round  the  powerful 
conqueror.  The  Emperor  of  Austria  remained 
quietly  but  sullenly  at  Vienna ;  the  King  of  Prus- 
sia was  at  Reichenbach,  and  was  now  the  enemy 
of  Napoleon,  and  all  the  princes  of  the  German 
Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  who,  but  a  year  be- 
fore, were  humble  courtiers  of  Napoleon,  kept 
aloof  "in  morose  silence,  or  refused  obedience  to 
their  former  master,  and  raised  difficulties  when 
called  upon  to  furnbh  new  troops  and  open  ad- 
ditional resources.  None  of  them  came  to  offer 
homage  to  him  whom  they  had  just  feared  as  the 
most  powerful  ruler  in  the  world.  Only  the  old, 
feeble  King  of  Saxony  (who,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war  had  fled  with  his  millions,  and 
the  diamonds  of  the  Green  Vault,  to  Plauen,  in  the 
most  remote  corner  of  his  territories),  *  returned 
at  the  rather  imperious  request  of  Napoleon  to 
Dresden.  The  emperor  dined  with  him  sometimes, 
but  only  in  the  most  intimate  family  circle,  and 
without  any  outward  splendor  ;  at  night  he  went 
to  the  French  theatre,  which  had  been  ordered  to 
Dresden  during  the  armistice.  Sometimes,  his 
favorites,  the  ladies  Mars  and  Georges,  and  the 
great  Talma,  were  allowed  to  sup  with  the  em- 
peror after  the  performance,  and  the  beautiful 
Mars,  the  impassioned  fervor  of  the  gifted 
Georges,  and  the  conversation  of  the  no  less 
genial  than  adroit  Talma,  succeeded  in  dispelling 
the  emperor's  discontent  But  no  sooner  was  he 
alone  with  his  thoughts,  his  labors,  his  plans, 
than  his  countenance  assumed  its  sombre  expres- 
Thus  days  and  weeks  elapsed,  and  the 


"  Ixjbensbilder,"  vol.  ill.,  p.  466. 


congress  was  still  assembled  at  Prague;  the  end 
of  the  armistice  was  drawing  nigh,  and  the  pleni- 
potentiaries liaJ  not  yet  been  able  to  agree  on  the 
conditions  of  peace. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  June. 
Napoleon  had  just  finished  his  breakfast,  and  en- 
tered his  map-room  to  conceive  there  the  plans 
of  future  campaigns,  when  the  door  of  the  recep- 
tion-room opened,  and  Minister  Maret,  Duke  de 
Bassano,  came  in.  Maret  belonged  to  the  few 
men  in  whom  his  master  placed  implicit  con- 
fidence, and  whose  fidelity  he  never  doubted;  to 
those  who  had  at  all  times  free  access  to  him, 
and  were  permitted  to  enter  his  apartments  with- 
out being  announced.  Nevertheless,  his  arrival 
seemed  to  surprise  Napoleon.  Never  before  had 
the  duke  entered  his  room  at  so  early  an  hour, 
for  he  knew  well  that  the  emperor,  engaged  in  ex- 
amining his  maps  and  devising  plans,  did  not  like 
to  be  disturbed.  It  was  undoubtedly  something 
unusual  that  induced  the  Duke  de  Bassano  to 
come  to  him  at  such  a  time. 

Napoleon  cast  a  quick  glance  on  Maret's  face. 
Standing  up  beside  the  map-table,  and  leaning  his 
hand  upon  it,  he  asked,  vehemently,  "  Well,  Ma- 
ret, what  is  it  ?  " 

"  Sire,  I  have  come  only  to  deliver  to  your  ma- 
jesty a  few  letters  which  the  courier  has  just 
brought  from  Paris,"  said  the  duke,  handing  him 
some  sealed  packages. 

"  Is  a  letter  from  the  empress  among  them  ?  " 
asked  Napoleon,  hastily. 

"  Yes,  sire." 

The  emperor  had  already  found  it,  and,  throw- 
ing the  others  upon  the  table,  he  hastily  opened 
the  one  from  his  wife  and  read  it.  His  face, 
which  until  then  had  been  so  stern  and  gloomy, 
gradually  assumed  a  milder  and  kindlier  expres- 
sion. 

"Ah,  dear  Louisa,"  he  said,  when  he  had  read 
it,  "how  affectionately  she  writes,  how  she  is 
yen  rning  for  me,  and  how  well  she  knows  how  to 
tfll  me  of  the  King  of  Rome,  who  is  constantly 
inquiring  for  his  father,  and  every  night,  when  he 
goes  to  bed,  calls  aloud,  'Dear  papa  emperor 
come  back  soon  I ' " 


186 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLtJCHER. 


"A  call,  sire,  in  which,  I  am  satisfied,  all 
France  joins,"  said  Maret,  quickly. 

"  Ah !  "  exclaimed  the  emperor,  contemptuous- 
ly shrugging  bis  shoulders,  "  I  know  well  that 
France — that  even  my  marshals  join  in  it,  cot 
from  any  devotion  to  myself,  but  because  they 
want  peace.  The  little  King  of  Rome,  however, 
is  longing  for  me,  and  the  empress,  too,  is  wish- 
ing for  my  return,  without  caring  much  whether 
there  is  war  or  peace.  These  two  love  me !  Ah, 
what  a  happy  family  would  we  three  be  if  a  last- 
ing peace  could  be  established !  I  am  tired  of 
war;  like  all  of  you,  I  am  yearning  to  return 
home,  and  to  enjoy  a  little  the  fruits  of  our  nu- 
merous victories." 

"  Sire,"  said  Maret,  in  a  low,  entreating  voice, 
"  it  is  easy  for  your  majesty  to  do  so,  and  to  re- 
store peace  to  Europe." 

"  Do  you  wish  also  to  join  in  the  nonsense  as- 
serted by  the  fools  ?  "  asked  Napoleon,  sharply  ! 
"  Always  the  same  air — the  same  strain !  You 
at  least,  Maret,  ought  not  to  sing  it,  for  you 
alone  are  aware  of  the  proposals  and  negotiations 
between  me  and  my  enemies,  and  should  know 
that  it  does  not  depend  on  me  alone  to  restore 
peace,  but  that  I  shall,  perhaps,  only  be  he  who 
must  receive  it." 

"Still,  sire,  a  few  concessions  on  the  part  of 
your  majesty  would  be  sufficient  to  bring  about 
peace,"  Maret  ventured  to  say. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  inquired  Napoleon, 
whose  voice  now  assumed  an  angry  tone.  "  Do 
you  intend  to  intimate,  by  your  longing  for  con 
cessions,  that  I  should  submit  to  the  disgraceful 
and  humiliating  terms  on  which  Austria  gives  me 
hopes  of  her  further  friendship  and  alliance  ? 
She  dares  ask  of  me  the  restoration  of  Illyria  and 
the  territory  annexed  to  the  grand-duchy  of  War- 
saw ;  she  demands  for  Prussia  the  evacuation  of 
her  fortresses,  the  restitution  of  Dantzic,  and  the 
restoration  of  the  whole  sea-shore  of  Northern 
Germany.  And  Austria,  in  making  these  propo- 
sals to  me,  in  her  equivocal  part  as  mediator,  does 
not  do  so  with  the  friendliness  of  an  ally,  but  she 
dares  to  threaten  me,  to  say  to  me,  *  If  France 
does  not  accept,  Austria  will  be  obliged  to  side  I 


with  the  enemies  of  France,  and  make  common 
cause  with  them.'  I  am  ready  to  make  peace, 
but  I  shall  die  sword  in  hand  rather  than  sign 
conditions  forced  upon  me.  I  will  negotiate,  but 
will  not  allow  them  to  dictate  laws  to  me.'  "  * 

"  Sire,  none  would  dare  dictate  laws  to  your 
majesty.  On  the  contrary,  Austria  will  be  glad 
if  you  merely  declare  that  you  are  ready  to  nego 
tiate,  and  she  will  not  have  much  to  ask.  She 
will  be  content  if  you  restore  Illyria  to  her ;  and 
I  am  convinced  of  it,  never  will  the  Emperor 
Francis  ally  himself  seriously  with  the  enemies 
of  his  son-in-law." 

"  But  the  Emperor  Francis  is  not  his  cabinet," 
exclaimed  Napoleon.  "I  might,  perhaps,  repose 
confidence  in  the  personal  attachment  of  my 
father-in-law,  but  this  could  not  blind  me  to  the 
policy  of  his  cabinet.  This  policy  never  changes. 
Treaties  of  alliance  and  marriages  may  somewhat 
retard  its  course,  but  never  deflect  it.  Austria 
never  renounces  what  she  was  compelled  to  cede. 
When  she  is  weaker  than  her  enemy,  she  resorts 
to  peace,  but  this  is  always  only  an  armistice  for 
her,  and,  in  signing  it,  she  thinks  of  a  new  war. 
Such  has  been  hrr  conduct  during  the  long  series 
of  years  during  which  I  have  been  fighting  and 
negotiating  with  her.  When  closely  pressed,  she 
always  accepted  peace,  and  offered  me  her  hand 
for  the  conclusion  of  an  alliance ;  but  whenever 
a  reverse  befell  me,  she  withdrew  her  hand  and 
broke  the  alliance.  Now  believing  that  she  sees 
her  own  interest,  she  immediately  resumes  a  hos- 
tile attitude  toward  me.  She  will  open  the  passes 
of  Bohemia  to  the  allies,  and  thereby  permit  them 
to  turn  the  positions  of  the  French  army,  attack 
us  in  the  rear,  and  cut  us  off  from  France.  In  a 
word,  Austria  is  unable  to  forget  any  thing  !  She 
will  remain  our  enemy,  not  only  so  long  as  she 
has  losses  to  make  up,  but  so  long  as  the  power 
of  France  might  threaten  her  with  new  humilia- 
tions. This  instinct  of  jealousy  is  more  powerful 
than  her  attachment;  she  will  always  strive  to 
aggrandize  herself  and  to  weaken  France,  and  if  I 
should  grant  her  Illyria  to-day,  she  would,  per- 

*  Napoleon's  words.— Vide  Beitzke,  vol.  L,  p.  560. 


BAD  NEWS. 


187 


haps,  to-morrow  claim  the  whole  of  Lombardy, 
and  her  former  provinces  in  the  Netherlands.* 
Do  not  deceive  yourself  about  it,  Maret,  and  do 
not  think  that  Austria  wants  peace  with  us  be- 
cause the  Emperor  Francis  is  my  father-in-law. 
I  must  dictate  peace  to  them  sword  in  hand,  and 
then  they  will  hasten  to  remind  me  that  I  am  the 
son-in-law  of  the  emperor,  and  in  consideration 
of  this  relationship  they  will  ask  of  me  favorable 
terms." 

"  But  this,  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  very  situation 
in  which  your  majesty  is  placed  now,"  exclaimed 
Maret.  "  Your  majesty  has  recently  achieved  two 
new  victories." 

"But -what  victories!"  said  Napoleon,  gloom- 
ily ;  "  they  have  cost  me  as  many  soldiers  as  the 
enemy,  and  procured  me  no  advantages.  I  had 
hoped  to  gain  many  trophies ;  but  in  the  battles 
of  Lutzen  and  Bautzen  not  a  cannon,  not  a  flag, 
but  a  few  insignificant  prisoners  fell  into  our 
hands.  After  two  dreadful  massacres,  we  have 
obtained  no  results  whatever — and  those  men 
have  not  left  me  a  single  nail  to  pick  up.  f  They 
are  no  longer  the  soldiers  of  Jena,  you  may  be 
sure  of  it,  Maret ;  another  spirit  animates  them 
and  their  commanders.  The  Prussians  fought 
like  lions  in  those  battles,  and  their  commander, 
General  Blucher,  is  like  a  chieftain  in  the  Iliad. 
lie  is  at  the  same  time  a  general  and  a  private 
soldier,  a  madcap  and  a  Ulysses.  The  army 
loves  him,  and  the  king  confides  in  him.  He 
hates  me,  and  has  an  excellent  memory  for  his 
defeats  of  Auerstadt  and  Lubeck,  and  wants  to 
take  revenge  for  them." 

"  But  it  is  unnecessary  for  Russia  to  take  re- 
venge," said  Maret. 

"Yes,"  murmured  Napoleon,  gloomily.  "On 
her  snow-fields  I  lost  my  army,  and  perhaps  also 
my  luck.  But,  no  matter ;  I  shall  struggle  on  to 
the  end,  and  compel  Fortune  to  become  again  my 
friend,  that  I  may  do  without  other  allies.  She 
surely  owes  me  attachment  and  fidelity,  for  have 

not  again  paid  her  a  he.ivy  tribute?  was  it  not 


•  Napoleon's  words.— Vide  "  The  Emperor  Francis  and 

ilch,"  p.  60. 
t  Napoleon's  words.— Constant,  vol.  v. 


necessary  for  me  to  act  like  Polycrates  to  keep 
out  of  bad  luck  ?  He  sacrificed  only  a  ring  to 
the  gods,  while  I  sacrificed  two  friends  to  For- 
tune, and  one  of  them  my  best  friend — Duroc. 
The  victory  of  Lutzen  cost  me  Bessieres ;  that  ol 
Bautzen,  Duroc.  It  was  a  heavy  sacrifice,  Maret ; 
my  heart  is  still  bleeding  in  consequence  of  it, 
and  this  wound  will  never  heal." 

Maret  made  no  reply,  but  turned  his  head  aside, 
and  his  face  had  a  strange  expression  of  uneasi- 
ness and  embarrassment. 

Napoleon  noticed  it,  and  slightly  shrugged  hia 
shoulders.  "  You  think  that  I  grow  sentimental, 
duke,"  he  said,  rudely,  "  and  you  mean  that  my 
long  military  experience  should  have  rendered 
me  insensible  to  such  accidents.  You  are  right ; 
let  us  refer  to  them  no  more.  Let  us  rather  read 
what  the  courier  has  brought." 

He  stretched  out  his  hand  for  the  other  letters, 
and  took  up  the  first  one  without  looking  at  it 
When  he  saw  the  superscription,  his  face  bright- 
ened, and,  fixing  a  quick,  reproachful  glance  upon 
Maret,  he  said  :  "  Fate  is  less  rigorous  than  you 
are,  Maret.  It  reminds  me  that  faithful  friends 
still  remain,  and  that  all  the  companions  of 
my  youth  are  not  yet  dead.  There  is  a  letter 
from  Junot !  He  is  one  of  my  faithful  friends  !  " 
Opening  it,  he  read  hastily,  and  his  face  darkened. 
"  Maret,"  he  cried,  in  an  angry  voice,  "  read — see 
what  Junot  dares  write  to  me ! "  He  handed 
the  letter  to  Maret.  "  Read  it  aloud,"  he  cried, 
"otherwise  I  shall  be  afraid  lest  my  eyes  deceive 
me,  and  I  mistake  his  words.  Not  the  commence- 
ment, but  the  last  page  is  what  I  want  to  hear." 

Maret  read  in  a  tremulous  voice  :  " '  I,  who  love 
your  majesty  with  the  fervor  which  the  savage 
feels  for  the  sun — I,  who  belong  to  you  with  body 
and  soul — must  tell  you  the  truth  ;  and  this  is : 
we  must  wage  an  eternal  war  for  you,  but  I  will 
do  so  no  more  !  I  want  peace  !  I  want  at  length 
to  be  able  to  rest  my  weary  head  and  aching 
limbs  in  my  house,  in  the  midst  of  my  family,  to 
enjoy  their  devotion,  and  no  longer  to  be  a  stranger 
to  them — to  enjoy  what  I  have  purchased  with  a. 
treasure  that  is  more  precious  than  all  the  riohea 
of  India — with  my  blood,  with  the  blood  of  a  man 


188 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER 


of  honor,  a  good  Frenchman,  a  true  patriot. 
Well,  then,  I  ask — I  demand — the  repose  that  I 
have  purchased  by  twenty-two  years  of  active  ser- 
vice, and  by  seventeen  wounds,  from  which  my 
blood  has  welled,  first  for  my  country,  and  then 
for  your  glory.  It  is  enough  ! — my  country  needs 
repose,  and  your  glory  is  as  radiant  as  the  sun.  I 
repeat,  therefore,  I  want  peace.  I  speak  in  the 
name  of  all  your  marshals  and  generals,  in  the 
name  of  your  army,  in  the  name  of  all  France : 
we  demand  peace  ;  give  it  to  us,  then ! — JUNOT, 
Duke  d'Abrantes. ' "  * 

"  Well ! "  inquired  Napoleon,  when  Maret  had 
read  the  letter,  "  what  do  you  think  of  this  im- 
pudence ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  Maret,  in  a  low,  tremulous  voice, 
"your  majesty  knows  well  that  the  Duke  d'Ab- 
rantes  is  very  dangerously  ill,  and  that  he  is  said 
to  be  subject  to  frequent  fits  of  insanity." 

"  It  is  true,  it  is  the  language  of  a  madman, 
but  one  who  knows  very  well  what  he  says.  For 
he  is  right ;  he  dares  utter  what  all  my  marshals 
are  thinking,  and  gives  utterance  to  their  thoughts, 
because  he  imagines  that  my  friendship  for  him 
gives  him  that  right.  The  fool !  I  shall  prove 
to  him  that  I  am,  first  and  above  all,  the  emperor, 
and  that  the  emperor  will,  without  regard  to  the 
person,  punish  the  man  who  is  so  audacious  as  to 
threaten  him.  Oh,  I  am  glad  that  it  is  Junot  who 
has  made  himself  the  mouth-piece  of  my  generals 
and  marshals  !  I  shall  punish  him  with  inexora- 
ble rigor,  and  that  will  silence  the  others  forever. 
They  will  not  dare  that  which  not  even  Junot 
was  permitted  to  do  with  impunity ;  they  will 
obey  when  my  first  anger  has  crushed  this  traitor 
Junot.  For  he  is  a  traitor,  a — " 

"  Oh,  sire,  I  implore  you,  do  not  proceed ! "  inter- 
posed Maret ;  "  have  mercy  upon  him  who  stands 
already  before  a  higher  Judge,  to  receive  his 
sentence ! " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  Napoleon. 

"  I  mean,  sire,"  replied  Maret,  solemnly,  "  that 
I  came  to  bring  you  a  sad  message,  and  that  your 
majesty,  therefore,  just  now  did  me  injustice. 

*  "Memoirs  of  the  Duchess  d'Abrantes,"  b.  svL,  p.  828. 


Sire,  when  you  deplored  the  death  of  your  lamented 
friend,  the  Duke  de  Frioul,  I  was  silent  and  em- 
barrassed, not  because  I  deemed  such  regrets  un- 
becoming, but  because  I  waa  filled  with  unbounded 
grief  at  the  thought  that  I  had  come  to  communi- 
cate a  similar  affliction.  The  courier  brought 
me  »lso  a  letter  from  M.  Albert  de  Comminges, 
Junot's  brother-in-law.  He  requests  me  therein 
to  inform  your  majesty  of  a  melancholy  occur- 
rence— the  Duke  d'Abrantes  is  dead !  Here  is 
a  letter  from  M.  de  Comminges  to  your  majes- 
ty.» 

The  emperor  made  no  reply,  but  his  face, 
which  generally  seemed  immovable,  commenced 
quivering,  and  his  lips  trembled.  He  took  the 
letter  in  silence,  and,  opening  it  with  a  hasty 
hand,  began  to  read  it.  But  suddenly  he  dropped 
it,  and,  pressing  both  his  hands  to  his  forehead, 
he  groaned  aloud.  Then  he  quickly  stooped 
down,  picked  up  the  letter  and  read  it  through. 
"  Junot ! "  he  then  cried  in  a  tone  of  profound 
woe — "  Junot ! "  He  crumpled  the  letter  in  his 
hands,  and,  with  an  expression  from  the  depths 
of  his  heart,  he  repeated,  "  Junot !  Oh,  my  God, 
Junot,  too ! " 

At  this  moment  his  wandering  eye  fell  upon 
Maret,  who  was  gazing  at  him,  pale  and  filled 
with  profound  compassion.  Napoleon  started 
and  concealed  the  tears  which  came  to  his  eyes. 
Before  an  observer  he  was  not  accustomed  to 
show  himself  a  man  overcome  by  grief.  He 
smiled,  but  with  an  indescribably  mournful  ex- 
pression, and  said  in  a  firm  voice,  "  Another  brave 
soldier  gone !  The  third  victim  that  the  war  haa 
required  of  me,  Maret!  It  takes  the  very  men 
who  were  indispensable  to  me,  because  they  set 
so  shining  au  example  of  bravery  and  fidelity  to 
the  whole  army.  That  is  the  only  reason  why  I 
complain !  " 

"Your  majesty  has  a  twofold  right  to  com- 
plain," said  Maret,  in  his  calm  voice ;  "  Juno  • 
loved  your  majesty  with  the  obedience  of  a  ser 
vant,  the  submissiveness  of  a  child,  the  enthu- 
siasm of  a  pupil,  the  ardor  of  a  friend.  He  would 
have  gone  through  fire  for  you,  and  he  was  jus- 
tified  in  saying  that  he  loved  your  majesty  with 


BAD  NEWS. 


189 


the  lore  the  savage  feels  for  the  sun.     Your  ma- 
jesty was  his  sun  !  " 

"  Yes,  he  loved  me,"  said  Napoleon,  in  a  low 
voice,  dropping  his  head  en  his  breast,  "  and  I 
could  count  upon  his  fidelity.  We  had  spent  our 
youth  toget'ier,  had  overcome  together  a  thou- 
sand dangers,  and  courageously  braved  the  vicis- 
situdes of  fute.  His  star  had  risen  with  mine. 
Will  not  mine  sink  with  his  ?  Oh,  Junot,  how 
could  you  leave  me  now,  when  you  knew  that  I 
stood  so  greatly  in  need  of  you  ?  Junot,  this  is 
the  first  time  that  you  desert  me,  and  forget  your 
plighted  faith.  I  am  on  the  eve  of  a  great  and 
doubtful  war,  surrounded  by  enemies — and  my 
friends  are  deserting  me  and  escaping  into  the 
grave!"  He  pause.d,  bowing  his  head  lower 
upon  his  breast,  and  wrinkling  his  forehead  in 
his  grief.  A  sad  silence  ensued,  which  Maret 
dared  not  interrupt  by  a  motion  or  a  word.  At 
length,  the  emperor  raised  his  face  again,  resum- 
ing his  usual  coldness  and  indifference.  "  Maret," 
he  said,  in  a  firm  voice,  "  I  have  no  one  in  II- 
lyria  now,  since  Junot,  governor  of  that  province, 
lias  died.  I  must  send  another  governor.  But 
whom  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  Maret,  in  a  timid  voice,  "  will  you 
not  take  the  proposals  of  Austria  into  consider- 
ation ?  She  demands  nothing  but  Illyria  as  the 
price  of  her  alliance  and  friendship.  Fate  itself 
seems  to  give  us  a  sign  to  grant  this  demand,  for 

has  removed  the  governor  of  Illyria." 

"  Fate !  "  cried  Napoleon,  shrugging  his  shoul- 
you  only  acknowledge  its  hints  when  it 
suits  your  purposes;  you  deny  its  existence  when 
it  would  seem  to  be  contrary  to  your  wishes. 
Fute  caused  the  governor  of  Illyria  to  die,  be- 
cause, as  you  yourself  suid,  he  was  subject  to  fits 
of  insanity  ;  it  has  thereby  given  me  an  oppor- 
tunity to  place  a  sensible  and  prudent  man  in 
's  stead,  a  man  who  will  not  dare  tell  me 

eh  impudent  tilings  as  you  read  to  me  from  his 
letter.  Well,  then,  I  will  obey  the  hint  of  Fate. 
Write  iniin.-'liat.'ly  to  Fnuche.  He  is  at  Naples; 
tell  him  to  set  out  at  once  and  come  to  Di 
I  intend  to  appoint  him  governor  of  Illyria.  Dis- 
patch a  courier  with  the  letter.  But  waii!  I 


seems 

"- 

„: 


lumiy 
Junof, 
such  ii 


have  not  yet  read  all  the  dispatches  brought  from 
Paris." 

He  stepped  back  to  the  table,  and  took  one  of 
the  letters  from  it.  "  A  letter  from  the  Duke  de 
Rovigo,"  he  said,  in  a  contemptuous  tone,  "  from 
the  police  minister  of  Paris !  He  will  tell  me  a 
great  many  stories ;  he  will  pretend  to  have  seen 
many  evil  spirits,  and,  after  all,  not  know  half  of 
what  he  ought  to  know,  and  what  Fouche  would 
have  known  if  he  still  held  that  position.  There, 
read  it,  Maret,  and  communicate  the  most  im- 
portant passages  to  me."  He  threw  himself  into 
the  chair  that  stood  in  front  of  his  desk,  and, 
taking  a  penknife,  commenced  whittling  the 
wooden  side-arm,  while  Maret  unfolded  the  dis- 
patch and  quickly  glanced  over  its  contents. 

"  Sire,"  he  said,  "  this  dispatch  contains  sur- 
prising news.  It  speaks  of  a  new  enemy  who 
might  rise  against  your  majesty." 

"  Well,"  said  Napoleon,  who  was  just  cutting 
a  large  splinter  from  the  chair,  "  what  new  enemy 
is  it  ?  " 

"Sire,"  said  Maret,  shrugging  his  shoulders, 
"it  is  Louis  XVIII." 

Napoleon  started,  and  looked  at  his  minister 
with  a  flash  of  anger.  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 
he  asked,  sternly.  "  Who  is  Louis  XVIII.  ? 
Where  is  the  country  over  which  he  rules  ?  " 

"Sire,  I  merely  intended  to  designate  the 
brother  of  the  unfortunate  King  Louis  XVI." 

"  My  uncle  1 "  said  Napoleon,  with  a  proud  smil«, 
driving  his  knife  again  into  the  back  of  the  chair. 
"  Well,  what  then  ?  Whereby  has  the  Count  de 
Lille  surprised  the  world  with  the  news  of  his  ex- 
istence ?  " 

"  Sire,  by  a  proclamation  addressed  to  the 
French,  and  in  which  he  implores  them  to  return 
to  their  legitimate  lord  and  king,  making  them 
many  promises,  which,  however,  do  not  contain 
anj  thing  but  what  the  French  possess  alreadj 
by  the  grace  of  your  majesty." 

Napoleon  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  Savary, 
then,  has  at  length  seen  a  copy  of  the  English 
newspapers  which  published  this  proclamation," 
he  said.  "  I  read  it  several  weeks  ago." 

"  No,  sire,  it  seems  that  the  proclamation  has 


190 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


not  only  appeared  in  the  English  newspapers,  but 
is  circulating  throughout  France.  The  Duke  de 
Rovigo  reports  that  secret  agents  of  the  Count 
de  Lille  are  actively  at  work  in  France.  They 
are  scattering  every  day  thousands  of  printed 
copies  of  the  proclamation  among  the  people. 
They  are  circulated  at  night  in  the  streets,  secret- 
ly pushed  under  the  doors  into  the  houses  and 
rooms  so  that  the  police  agents  are  unable  to  take 
them  away.  These  copies,  it  appears,  are  printed 
on  hand-presses,  for  their  lines  are  often  irregular 
and  slanting,  and  indicate  an  unpractised  hand, 
but  those  who  receive  them  try  to  decipher  them, 
and  deliver  them  to  the  police  only  after  having 
read  them."  * 

Napoleon  said  nothing;  he  was  still  whittling 
the  back  of  his  chair,  and  did  not  once  look  up 
to  his  minister,  who  stood  before  him  in  reveren- 
tial silence.  "I  thought  I  had  crushed  this  ser- 
pent of  legitimacy  under  my  foot,"  he  murmured 
at  last  to  himself,  "  but  it  still  lives,  and  tries 
again  to  rise  against  me.  Ah,  I  despise  it,  and 
I  have  reason  to  do  so.  I  alone  am  now  the 
legitimate  ruler  of  France;  the  fifty  battles  in 
which  I  have  fought  and  conquered  for  France 
are  my  ancestors ;  the  will  of  the  French  people 
has  made  me  emperor,  and  the  voice  of  all  the 
sovereign  princes  of  Europe  has  recognized  my 
throne.  The  daughter  of  an  emperor  is  my  part- 
ner ;  and  the  King  of  Rome,  the  future  emperor 
of  the  French,  will  be  more  of  a  legitimate  ruler 
than  any  other  prince,  for  the  battles  of  his  father 
and  the  ancestors  of  the  Hapsburgs  form  his  pedi- 
gree. Let  the  Count  de  Lille,  then,  flood  France 
with  copies  of  his  proclamation,  I  shall  ha  the 
mean  time  win  battles  for  France,  and  with  the 
bulletins  of  my  victories  drive  bis  proclamations 
from  the  field.  I—" 

At  this  moment  the  door  opened,  and  Roustan's 
black  face  looked  in.  "  Sire,  the  Duke  de  Vicenza 
requests  an  audience,"  he  said. 

"  Caulaincourt  !  "  exclaimed  Napoleon,  sur- 
prised, rising  and  throwing  the  penknife  on  the 
floor.  "  Caulaincourt !  Let  him  come  in  !  " 

»  "  M6moires  <lu  Due  Rcvigo,"  vol.  vt,  p.  851. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 


THE   TRAITORS. 

ROUSTAN  stepped  back,  and  the  imposing  form 
of  the  Duke  de  Viceuza  appeared  on  the  thresh- 
old. The  emperor  hastily  met  him  and  looked  at 
hiui  with  a  keen,  piercing  glance.  "Caulain- 
court," he  exclaimed,  "  whence  do  you  come,  and 
what  do  you  want  here  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  the  duke,  gravely  and  solemnly, 
"  I  come  from  Prague,  whither  the  order  of  your 
majesty  had  sent  me,  to  attend  the  congress 
and  to  conduct  the  negotiations  in  the  name  of 
your  majesty." 

"  These  negotiations  are  broken  off,  then,  as 
you  have  come  without  having  been  recalled  ?  " 

"  No,  they  are  not  broken  off,  but  I  have  im- 
portant news  to  communicate  to  your  majesty, 
and  as  I  think  that  we  are  served  best  when  serv- 
ing ourselves,  I  have  made  myself  the  bearer  of 
my  own  dispatches,  to  be  sure  that  they  reach 


your  majesty  in  time.  I  have  travelled  post- 
haste, and  shall  return  to  Pmgue  in  the  same 
manner." 

"  Well,  then,  inform  me  of  the  contents  of  your 
dispatches  orally  and  quickly." 

"  Sire,  I  inform  your  majesty  that  the  Count  de 
Metternich  is  on  the  road  to  this  city  to  convey 
to  you  the  ultimatum  of  Austria," 

A  flash  of  anger  burst  from  the  emperor's 
eyes.  "  He  dares  meet  me !  does  he  not  fear 
lest  I  crush  him  by  hurling  his  duplicity  and 
treachery  into  his  face  ?  For  I  know  that  Aus- 
tria is  playing  a  double  game,  negotiating  at  the 
same  time  with  me  and  my  enemies." 

"  But  it  is  still  in  the  power  of  your  majesty  to 
attach  Austria  to  France,  and  secure  a  continued 
alliance  with  her,"  exclaimed  the  Duke  de  Vi- 
cenza. "  This  is  the  reason  why  I  have  hastened 
hither:  to  implore  your  majesty  not  to  reject  en- 
tirely, in  the  first  outburst  of  your  anger,  the 
proposals  of  Austria,  however  inadmissible  they 
may  appear  to  be.  I  left  Vienna  simultaneously 
with  Count  Metternich,  but  succeeded  in  getting 
somewhat  the  start  of  him  ;  he  will  be  here  in  an 
hour,  and  I  have,  therefore,  time  enough  to  com- 


THE  TRAITORS. 


191 


municate  to  your  majesty  important  news  which 
I  learned  at  Prague  yesterday,  and  which  is  suffi- 
ciently grave  to  influence  perhaps  your  resolu- 
tions." 

"  Speak  !  "  commanded  the  emperor,  throwing 
himself  again  into  the  chair,  and  taking,  for  want 
of  a  penknife,  a  pair  of  scissors  from  his  desk, 
in  order  to  bore  the  back  of  the  chair  with  it. 
Speak ! " 

"  In  the  first  place,  I  have  to  inform  your  ma- 
jesty that  the  Emperor  of  Austria  has  left  Vi- 
enna for  Castle  Gitschin,  in  Bohemia,  and  that  an 
interview  of  the  Emperor  Francis  with  the  allied 
monarchs  took  place  there  on  the  20th  of  June." 

"  Ah,  the  first  step  to  open  hostility  has  been 
taken,  then,"  cried  Napoleon. 

"  This  interview,  however,  led  to  no  results," 
added  Caulaincourt.  "  The  Emperor  Francis,  ou 
the  contrary,  declared  emphatically  that  he  was 
still  merely  a  mediator,  and  would  consider  the 
alliance  with  France  as  dissolved,  if  your  majesty 
should  reject  the  ultimatum  with  which  he  should 
send  Metternich  to  Dresden." 

"  That  is  the  equivocal  and  insidious  language 
which  the  Austrian  diplomacy  has  always  used," 
exclaimed  the  emperor,  shrugging  his  shoulders. 
"  They  want  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  all,  in 
order  to  succeed  hi  being  the  friend  of  him  who 
is  victorious.  My  father-in-law,  it  seems,  has 
learned  by  heart,  and  recited  the  lesson  which 
Metternich  taught  him.  Proceed,  Caulaincourt." 

"  Next,  I  have  to  inform  your  majesty  that  a 
definite  treaty  was  concluded  yesterday  between 
Austria  and  the  allies.  It  was  concluded  at 
Reichenbach.  Austria  has  solemnly  engaged  to 
declare  war  against  you  if  you  refuse  to  accept 
hei  terms,  the  last  she  would  send.  Besides, 
Prussia  and  Russia  concluded  a  treaty  with  Eng- 
land, which  engaged  to  assist  both  powers  with 
money  and  materiel,  and  which,  in  return,  received 
the  promise  that  Hanover,  England's  possession 
io  Germany,  should  be  considerably  enlarged  at 
the  end  of  the  war,  and  that  new  territories 
hould  be  added  to  it." 

"And  the  short-sighted  monarchs  have  been 
enough  to  grant  this  to  England ! "  cried 


Napoleon,  with  a  sneer.  "  In  their  blind  hatred 
against  me  they  grant  more  territory  in  Germany 
to  their  most  dangerous  enemy,  that  England 
may  spread  still  further  the  vast  net  of  her  egotism, 
and  catch  all  Germany  in  it,  flood  the  country 
with  her  manufactured  goods,  and  drive  the  com- 
merce of  the  continent  into  British  hands  !  Ah, 
those  gentlemen  will  soon  perceive  what  a  mis- 
take they  have  committed  in  yielding  to  the  de- 
mands of  those  greedy  English  traders.  For  if 
England  gives  money  instead  of  asking  it,  she 
must  have  a  great  many  substantial  advantages 
in  view,  and  these  she  can  obtain  only  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  German  sovereigns,  to  whom  she 
will  furnish  subsidies  now.  Are  you  through 
with  your  news,  Caulaincourt  ?  " 

"  No,  sire,  I  have  still  something  to  add,"  said 
the  Duke  of  Vicenza,  in  a  melancholy  voice. 

The  emperor  looked  at  him  with  a  piercing 
glance,  which  seemed  to  fathom  the  depths  of  his 
soul. 

"Speak! "he  said,  quickly. 

"  Your  majesty  knows  that  the  crown  prince 
of  Sweden,  Beraadotte,  landed  with  his  army  at 
Stralsund  on  the  20th  of  May  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  said  Napoleon,  shrugging  hi* 
shoulders.  "My  former  marshal,  who  acquired 
in  my  service  a  name  and  some  fame,  whom  I 
permitted  to  accept  the  dignity  of  crown  prince 
of  Sweden  that  was  offered  him,  a  Frenchman, 
had  the  meanness  to  turn  his  arms  against  his 
country,  and  ally  himself  with  the  enemies  of 
France.  But  still  it  seems  that  his  courage 
is  failing  him.  A  month  ago  he  disembarked  in 
Germany,  and  is  idle  with  his  troops  in  Mecklen- 
burg. He  allowed  Hamburg  to  fall ;  he  did  noth- 
ing to  save  Brandenburg,  and  appears  ready  to 
embark  again  for  Sweden.  Looking  the  crime 
of  treason  full  in  the  face,  he  was  unable  to  bear 
the  thought  of  it,  and  will  retreat  from  it  to  the 
steps  of  the  Swedish  throne." 

"  N'o,  sire,"  said  Caulaincourt,  gravely,  "  the 
crown  prince  of  Sweden  has  made  up  his  mind, 
and  hesitates  no  longer.  The  Emperor  Alexan- 
der sent  an  envoy  to  Beraadotte,  and  requested 
of  him  an  interview  with  the  mouarchs  of  Prussia 


192 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


and  Russia,  for  the  purpose  of  concerting  with 
them  a  joint  plan  of  operations  for  the  campaign. 
Bernadotte,  thanks  to  the  persuasive  eloquence 
of  the  Russian  envoy,  eagerly  accepted  this  invi- 
tation, and  the  interview  is  to  take  place  on  the 
9th  of  July  at  Trachenberg,  in  Silesia.  The 
crown  prince  is  already  on  the  road  with  a  truly 
royal  suite,  and  he  has  been  solemnly  assured 
that  the  sovereigns  will  receive  him  at  Trachen- 
berg with  all  the  honors  due  his  rank  as  a  sov- 
ereign and  legitimate  prince.  The  envoy  of  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  is  accompanying  Bernadotte 
on  this  journey,  to  strengthen  the  favorable  dis- 
positions of  the  crown  prince,  and  render  him  at 
once  an  active  and  energetic  member  of  the  alli- 
ance." 

"  Who  is  this  envoy  whom  Alexander  has  dis- 
patched to  Bernadotte  ?  "  asked  Napoleon. 

"  Sire,  it  is  Count  Pozzo  di  Borgo." 

"Ah,  my  Corsican  countryman,  and  once  an 
ardent  friend,"  exclaimed  Napoleon.  "  He  has 
never  forgiven  me  for  not  having  assisted  him, 
the  enthusiastic  republican,  in  becoming  King  of 
Corsica,  but  having  left  France  in  possession  of 
my  native  country.  As  he  was  unable  to  become 
a  king,  M.  Pozzo  di  Borgo  entered  the  service  of 
the  Czar  of  Russia  to  fight  against  me,  his  coun- 
tryman, with  the  power  of  his  tongue,  as  my 
other  countryman  with  the  arms  of  the  Swedes. 
Well,  I  think  it  will  not  do  the  allies  much  good 
to  unite  with  traitors  and  apostates,  and  to  look 
for  assistance  against  me  from  them.  I  gain 
more  moral  weight  by  this  struggle  against  trai- 
tors than  my  enemies  by  their  support.  Berna- 
dotte's  treason  is  my  ally." 

"  Sire,  another  man  has  joined  the  traitor,  a 
Frenchman,  who  wants  to  fight  against  France, 
against  his  emperor  and  former  comrade." 

"  Still  another  !     A  third  traitor  !     Who  is  it  ?  " 

"  Sire,  it  is  General  Moreau." 

"  What!  has  Moreau  returned  from  America?  " 
asked  Napoleon,  looking  up  quickly. 

"  Yes,  sire ;  he  has  left  the  banks  of  the  Dela- 
ware to  fight  against  his  country,  as  a  general  of 
the  Emperor  of  Russia." 

The  emperor  looked  thoughtfully,  and  suddenly 


he  raised  his  eyes,  while  a  pleased  expression  lit 
up  his  countenance. 

"  My  enemies  assert  that  I  have  a  heart  ot 
iron,"  he  said,  in  a  gentle  voice ;  "  they  charge 
me  with  being  insensible  to  human  emotions — to 
compassion,  friendship,  and  love.  Well,  then,  I 
could  have  had  Moreau  and  Bernadotte  both 
killed ;  they  were  in  my  power,  and  deserved 
death.  Moreau  had  entered  into  a  conspiracy 
against  me  and  the  existing  laws  of  our  country 
— a  conspiracy  whose  object  was  to  assassinate 
me.  I  believe  I  would  have  been  justified  if  I 
had  made  him  feel  the  rigor  of  my  laws,  and  ex- 
piate his  murderous  intent  by  death.  Bernadotte 
disobeyed  my  orders  in  two  battles ;  I  would  have 
been  justified  in  having  him  tried  by  a  court-mar- 
tial, which  would  certainly  have  passed  sentence 
of  death  upon  him.  I  permitted  Moreau  to  emi- 
grate to  America,  and  indulge  his  republican 
predilections  there  without  hinderance ;  and  Ber- 
nadotte to  go  to  Sweden,  and  gratify  the  desires 
of  his  ambitious  heart.  I  pardoned  both  because 
I  loved  them.  They  now  reward  me  by  allying 
themselves  with  my  enemies.  This  is  all  right, 
however,  for  I  have  placed  both  under  heavy  ob- 
ligations, and  nothing  is  more  difficult  to  forgive 
than  benefits." 

"Sire,  as  I  have  alluded  to  these  traitors,  I 
must  mention  still  another.  General  Jomini,  ad- 
jutant-general of  Marshal  Ney,  has  deserted  his 
post  and  gone  over  to  the  camp  of  the  allies  to 
offer  his  services  to  the  sovereigns.  He  has  be- 
come a  member  of  the  Emperor  Alexander's 
staff." 

"  Well,"  cried  Napoleon,  with  the  semblance 
of  unalloyed  mirth,  "the  world  and  posterity 
will  have  to  pardon  me  now  if  I  lose  a  few  bat 
ties  in  this  campaign,  for  those  who  are  fighting 
against  me  are  commanded  by  generals  who  have 
learned  the  art  of  war  from  me — pupils  of  mine. 
I  must,  therefore,  allow  them  to  gain  a  battle  or 
two  to  prove  that  I  am  a  good  teacher.  Besides, 
Joinini  is  not  as  guilty  as  Moreau  and  Bernadotte. 
He  is  a  native  of  Switzerland,  and  his  treason  is 
aimed  only  at  myself,  and  not  at  his  country." 

"  It  seems  such  is  Jomini's  excuse,  too,"  said 


NAPOLEON   AND   METTERNICH. 


193 


Caulaincourt,  "for  I  have  been  told  that  he 
treated  General  Moreau  with  surprising  coolness, 
and  when  the  latter  offered  him  his  hand  he  did 
not  take  it,  but  withdrew  with  a  chilling  saluta- 
tion. To  the  Emperor  Alexander,  who  rebuked 
him  for  it,  he  replied  that  he  would  gladly  wel- 
come General  Moreau  anywhere  else  than  at  the 
camp  of  the  enemies  of  Moreau's  own  country. 
For  if  he,  Jomini,  were  a  native  of  France,  he 
would  assuredly  at  this  hour  not  be  at  the  camp 
of  the  Emperor  of  Russia." 

"  Ah  ! "  exclaimed  the  emperor,  "  I  am  con- 
vinced that  miserable  Jomini  imagines  that  he 
acted  in  a  very  noble  and  highly-dignified  man- 
ner. A  traitor  who  is  ashamed  of  another  traitor, 
and  blushes  for  him !  Ah,  Caulaincourt,  what  a 
harrowing  spectacle!  These  acts  of  treachery 
will  in  the  end  make  me  unhappy  !  *  For  does 
not  Austria,  too,  wish  to  betray  me?  Has  she 
not  entered  into  an  alliance  with  me,  and  does 
she  not  now  wish  to  forsake  me  merely  because 
she  imagines  that  it  would  be  more  advantageous 
to  her  to  side  with  my  enemies?  Austria  is 
oscillating,  and  Metternich  thinks  he  can  pre- 
serve her  equilibrium  by  placing  Austrian  prom- 
ises as  weights  now  into  this,  now  into  that  scale. 
But  the  cabinet  of  Vienna  deceives  itself.  Count 
Metternich  wants  his  intrigues  to  pass  for  policy, 
while  the  whole  object  of  Austria  is  to  recover 
what  she  has  lost."  f 

At  this  moment  a  carriage  was  heard  to  roll 
up  to  the  palace  and  stop  close  under  the  win- 
dows of  the  cabinet.  Maret,  who,  during  the 
conversation  bt  i  'Icon  and  Caulaincourt, 

hid  retired  into  a  window-niche,  turned  and 
looked  out  into  the  street. 

"Sire,"  he  then  said,  quickly,  "Count  Metter- 
nieh  ,  and  already  entered  the  palace." 

.-n  !"  exclaimed 

Napoleon,  with  an  air  of  scornful  triumph ;  "  he 
wishr  .ir  the  mask  from  his  smirking 

fa.ce!  \\Y11,  I  shall  comply  with  his  wishes;  I, 
al,  least,  shall  •  nor  veil  my  real 

-Constant's  "  M6nv>lres,"  vol.  v., 

Napoleon's  words.— F*in,  "  Mannscrit  do  1813,"  vol.  i. 
13 


thoughts !  Austria  shall  learn  what  I  think  of 
her ! " 

The  door  opened,  and  Koustan  entered  again. 
"  Sire,"  he  said,  "  his  excellency  Count  Metter- 
nich, minister  plenipotentiary  of  his  majesty  the 
Emperor  of  Austria,  requests  an  audience  of  your 
majesty." 

Napoleon  turned  his  head  slowly  toward  the 
Dukes  de  Vicenza  and  Bassano.  "Enter  the 
cabinet  of  my  private  secretary,  Fain,"  he  said. 
"Leave  the  door  ajar;  I  want  you  to  hear  all. 
Fain,  if  he  pleases,  may  take  notes  of  this  inter- 
view, that  he  may  afterward  accurately  testify  to 
it  Go!" 

The  two  gentlemen  bowed  in  silence  and  with- 
drew. The  emperor  gazed  after  them  until  they 
disappeared  through  the  door  of  the  cabinet ;  then 
turning  toward  Roustan,  "  Let  him  come  in,"  he 
said,  with  a  quick  nod. 

A  few  minutes  afterward  the  slender  form,  and 
the  handsome,  florid,  and  smiling  face  of  Count 
Clement  de  Metternich  appeared  on  the  threshold 
of  the  imperial  cabinet 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

NAPOLEON    AND    METTERNICH. 

THE  emperor  quickly  met  the  Austrian  minis- 
ter,  but,  as  if  restraining  himself,  he  stood  in  the 
middle  of  the  room.  Metternich  approached, 
making  a  stiff,  solemn  bow,  and  quickly  raised  his 
head  again,  and  turning  his  fine  face,  from  which 
the  smile  did  not  vanish  for  a  moment,  toward 
the  emperor,  he  waited  in  respectful  silence  for 
the  latter  to  address  him.  Napoleon  cast  a  men- 
glance  of  hatred  upon  him ;  but  Metternich 
did  not  seem  to  perceive  his  threat  He  fixed  his 
large  blue  eyes  with  perfect  calmness  on  the  face 
of  the  emperor,  and  awaited  the  commencement 
of  the  conver-ation. 

The  emperor  felt  that  it  was  his  province  to 
break  this  silence.  "  Well,  Metternich,"  he  said, 
"  you  are  here,  then  !  You  are  welcome !  But 


194 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


answer  me,  without  circumlocution,  What  do  you 
want  ? " 

"  Sire,  Austria  wishes  me  to  mediate  a  peace 
between  the  Prussian  and  Russian  allies  and  your 
majesty." 

"  Ah,  you  want  peace !  "  exclaimed  Napoleon, 
sarcastically.  "  But  why  so  late  ?  We  have  lost 
nearly  a  month,  and  your  mediation,  from  its 
long  inactivity,  has  become  almost  hostile.  It 
appears  that  it  no  longer  suits  your  cabinet  to 
guarantee  the  integrity  of  the  French  empire? 
Be  it  so;  but  why  had  you  not  the  candor  to 
make  me  acquainted  with  that  determination  at 
an  earlier  period?  It  might  have  modified  my 
plans — perhaps  prevented  me  from  continuing 
the  war." 

"  But  your  majesty  ought  graciously  to  remem- 
ber that,  for  the  present,  there  is  no  question  of 
Austria  and  her  wishes,"  said  Metternich,  calmly  ; 
"  that  Austria  is  merely  trying  to  mediate  peace 
between  your  majesty  and  the  sovereigns  of  Rus- 
sia and  Prussia." 

"Ah,  that  is  what  you  call  mediating,"  ex- 
claimed Napoleon,  sneeringly.  "When  you  al- 
lowed me  to  exhaust  myself  by  new  efforts,  you 
doubtless  little  calculated  on  such  rapid  events  as 
have  ensued.  I  have  gained,  nevertheless,  two 
battles ;  my  enemies,  severely  weakened,  were 
beginning  to  waken  from  their  illusions,  when 
suddenly  you  glided  among  us,  and,  speaking  to 
me  of  an  armistice  and  mediation,  you  spoke  to 
them  of  alliance  and  war.  But  for  your  perni- 
cious intervention,  peace  would  have  been  at  this 
moment  concluded  between  the  allies  and  myself. 
You  cannot  deny  that,  since  she  has  assumed  the 
office  of  mediator,  Austria  has  not  only  ceased  to 
be  my  ally,  but  is  becoming  my  enemy.  You 
were  about  to  declare  yourself  so  when  the  battle 
of  Lutzen  intervened,  and,  by  showing  you  the 
necessity  of  augmenting  your  forces,  made  you 
desirous  of  gaining  time.  You  have  improved 
your  opportunity,  and  now  you  have  your  two  hun- 
dred thousand  men  ready,  screened  by  the  Bohe- 
mian hills  ;  Schwartzenberg  commands  them  ;  at 
this  very  moment  he  is  concentrating  them  in  my 
rear ;  and  it  is  because  you  conceive  yourself  in  a 


condition  to  dictate  the  law,  that  you  pay  this 
visit." 

"  Sire,  dictate !  "  echoed  Metternich,  in  a  tone 
of  dismay,  but  with  a  strange  smile. 

"  Yes,  dictate ! "  repeated  Napoleon,  in  a 
louder  voice.  "But  why  do  you  wish  to  dic- 
tate to  me  alone?  Am  I,  then,  no  longer  the 
same  man  whom  you  defended  yesterday?  If 
you  are  an  honest  mediator,  why  do  you  not  at 
least  treat  both  sides  alike  ?  Say  nothing  in  reply, 
for  I  see  through  you,  Metternich :  your  cabinet 
wishes  to  profit  by  my  embarrassments,  and  aug- 
ment them  as  much  as  possible,  in  order  to  recover 
a  portion  of  your  losses.  The  only  difficulty  you 
have  is,  whether  you  can  gain  your  object  with- 
out fighting,  or  throw  yourselves  boldly  among  the 
combatants ;  you  do  not  know  which  to  do,  and 
possibly  you  come  to  seek  light  on  the  subject. 
Well,  then,  let  us  see !  Let  us  treat !  What  do 
you  wish  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  Metternich,  with  his  smiling  calm- 
ness, which  had  not  yielded  for  an  instant  to  the 
storm  of  Napoleon's  reproaches,  "Austria  hss 
no  motives  of  self-interest.  The  sole  advantage 
which  the  Emperor  Francis  wishes  to  derive  from 
the  present  state  of  affairs  is  the  influence  which  a 
spirit  of  moderation,  and  a  respect  for  the  rights 
of  independent  states,  cannot  fail  to  acquire  from 
those  who  are  animated  with  similar  sentiments. 
Austria  wishes  not  to  conquer,  but  to  preserve." 

"  Speak  more  clearly,"  interrupted  the  em- 
peror, impatiently ;  "  but  do  not  forget  that  I 
am  a  soldier." 

"Your  majesty  has  taught  Europe  by  upward 
of  fifty  battles  never  to  forget  that,"  said  Metter- 
nich, with  a  pleasant  nod.  "  Austria  wishes  to 
wound  your  majesty  neither  as  a  soldier  nor  as 
an  emperor.  She  simply  desires  to  establish  a 
state  of  things  which,  by  a  wise  distribution  of 
power,  may  place  the  guaranty  of  peace  under 
the  protection  of  an  association  of  independent 
states." 

"  Words,  words  ! "  cried  Napoleon,  impatiently. 
"  Words  having  no  other  object  than  evasion,  veil- 
ing your  own  designs  !  But  I  mean  to  go  directly  to 
the  object.  I  only  wish  Austria  to  remain  neutral. 


NAPOLEON  AND   METTERNICII. 


195 


and  I  am  ready  to  make  sacrifices  to  her  for  it. 
My  army  is  amply  sufficient  to  bring  back  the 
Russians  and  Prussians  to  reason.  All  that  I 
ask  of  you  is  to  withdraw  from  thft  strife." 

"Ah,  sire,"  said  Metternich,  eagerly,  "why 
should  your  majesty  enter  singly  into  the  strife  ? 
Why  should  you  not  double  your  forces  ?  You 
may  do  so,  sire  !  It  depends  only  on  you  to  add 
our  forces  to  your  own.  Yes,  matters  have  come 
to  that  point  that  we  can  no  longer  remain  neu- 
tral ;  we  must  be  either  for  or  agjinst  you." 

The  emperor  bent  on  him  one  of  those  piercing 
glances  which  the  eagle  bends  upon  the  clouds 
to  which  he  is  soaring,  seeking  for  the  sun  be- 
hind them.  "  And  which  would  be  more  desirable 
to  you,"  he  asked,  "  to  be  for  or  against  me  ?  " 

"  Ah,  sire,  the  Emperor  Francis  wishes  for 
nothing  more  ardently  than  that  the  state  of  af- 
fairs should  enable  him  to  be  for  France,  whose 
emperor  is  his  son-in-law." 

"  But  my  father-in-law  imposes  conditions ! 
Pray,  tell  me  what  they  are ! "  exclaimed  Napo- 
leon, striding  up  and  down  the  apartment,  while 
Metternich  walked  by  his  side,  respectfully  hold- 
ing his  hat  in  his  hand. 

"  Tell  me  what  these  conditions  are ! "  repeated 
leon. 

"  Sire,  they  are  simply  these,"  said  Metternich, 
a  bland  tone.     "  During  the  late  decade  the 

Uirs  of  Europe  have  been  disturbed  in  a  some- 
violent  manner.      Austria  only  wishes   to 
have  the  equilibrium  of  Europe  reestablished,  and 
all  the  states   occupy  again  the  same  position 

ich  they  held  prior  to  these  convulsions.  If 
your  majesty  consents  to  contribute  your  share 
to  this  restoration,  Austria  in  return  offers  to 
France  her  lasting  alliance,  and,  in  case  the  other 
powers  should  pursue  a  hostile  course,  her  armed 
assistance.  Austria  wishes  to  make  no  conquests, 
iv  no  provinces,  no  titles — she  is  animated 
with  the  spirit  of  moderation.  She  demands  only 
onier,  justice,  and  equality  for  all,  and,  moreover, 
only  the  restoration  of  such  states  as  h;r. 

ized  for  centuries  as  members  of  the  gen- 
confederacy  of  European  states,  the  recon- 
struction of  those  thrones  which  have  exi 


"T 
Napo 


r: 


age»,  and  whose  rulers  have  a  legitin:  ite  right  to 
their  sovereignty.  I  believe  your  majesty  cannot 
deny  that  the  Bourbons  have  a  well-founded  right 
to  Spain,  and  that  the  Spaniards  now,  by  the 
blood  sheJ  in  their  heroic  struggle,  have  estab- 
lished their  right  to  restore  the  throne  to  their 
legitimate  rulers.  You  will  have  to  admit,  further, 
that  no  Christian  sovereign,  how  powerful  soever 
he  may  be,  has  a  right  to  overthrow  the  Holy  See 
of  St.  Peter,  and  to  keep  the  vicegerent  of  God 
away  from  the  capital  which  all  Christendom  has 
so  long  recognized  as  his  own.  You  will  have  to 
admit,  too,  that  both  Lombardy  and  Illyria  have 
long  been  possessions  of  Austria,  and  that  Swit- 
zerland has  been  recognized  as  a  confederation 
of  republics  by  all  the  powers  of  Europe.  If 
your  majesty  acknowledges  all  this,  and  consents 
to  restore  the  state  of  things  in  accordance  with 
those  well-established  rights,  it  only  remains  for 
us  to  find  compensation  for  the  three  powers 
which  have  already  allied  themselves  against  you. 
As  for  Prussia,  I  believe  a  portion  of  Saxony 
would  be  the  most  suitable  indemnity  for  her 
Russia,  I  suppose,  would  be  content  if,  after  the 
dissolution  of  the  duchy  of  Warsaw,  Poland 
should  once  more  fall  to  her  share,  and  England 
demands  only  the  possession  of  a  few  fortified 
places  and  safe  harbors  on  the  shores  of  Hol- 
land." 

The  emperor  uttered  a  cry  of  anger,  and,  sud- 
denly halting,  cast  glances  on  Metternich  which 
seemed  to  borrow  their  fire  from  the  lightning. 
"  Are  you  through  with  your  proposals,  sir  ?  "  he 
asked,  in  a  threatening  tone. 

Metternich  bowed.     "  Yes,  sire." 

"  Well,  then,"  cried  the  emperor,  stepping  up 
to  the  minister,  "  to  all  this  I  respond  only  by  the 
:  How  much  money  has  England  given 
you  to  play  this  part  ?  " 

At  this  question,  uttered  in  a  menacing  voice, 
Metternich  turned  pale,  the  smile  passed  from  his 
lirow  darkened,  and  his  eyes,  usually  so 
mild  and  pleasant,  kindled  with  anger,  and  al- 
l->\\c<\  the  thoughts,  generally  concealed  in  the 
innermost  recesses  of  the  diplomatist's  heart,  to 
burst  forth  for  a  moment,  and  betray  hatred. 


196 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


"  Ah,"  cried  Napoleon,  in  a  triumphant  tone, 
"  I  have  at  length  torn  the  mask  from  your  smil- 
ing features,  and  I  see  that  a  serpent  is  hidden 
under  them  as  under  roses.  It  would  sting,  but 
I  know  how  to  be  on  my  guard ;  I  will  never 
grant  Austria  the  right  to  insult,  dictate  to,  and 
humiliate  me.  I  will  compel  her,  as  I  have  done 
so  often,  to  prostrate  herself  in  the  dust  before 
me,  and  ask  mercy  and  forbearance.  Do  you 
hear  what  I  say  ?  I  will  humiliate  Austria,  tram- 
pling her  in  the  dust."  The  emperor  violently 
raised  his  clinched  fist,  and  striking  it  downward 
struck  Metternich's  hat,  which  the  minister  still 
held  in  his  hand,  and  caused  it  to  fall  to  the 
ground. 

The  emperor  paused  and  looked  at  Metternich, 
as  if  to  request  him  to  pick  up  the  hat.  But  the 
latter  did  not  make  the  slightest  movement.  His 
thoughts  and  his  hatred  had  already  retired  into 
his  bosom;  his  brow  was  serene  again,  and  his 
accustomed  smile  returned.  He  looked  first  at 
the  hat,  and  then  at  the  emperor,  who  followed 
his  glances,  and  met  them  sullenly  and  defiantly. 
This  little  incident,  however,  seemed  to  have  dis- 
pelled Napoleon's  anger,  or  at  least  to  have  ap- 
peased the  first  stormy  waves  of  the  sea.  When 
he  spoke  again  his  tone  was  milder,  and  his  look 
less  scorching,  returning  from  time  to  time,  as  it 
were  involuntarily,  to  the  hat  lying  on  the  floor  a 
few  steps  from  him.  He  commenced  pacing  the 
apartment  again  with  quick  steps.  Metternich 
followed  him,  only  with  somewhat  slackened 
pace,  and  thus  compelled  the  emperor  to  walk 
a  little  slower. 

"  Now,"  said  Napoleon,  loudly,  "  I  know  what 
you  want !  Not  only  Illyria,  but  the  half  of  Ita- 
ly, the  return  of  the  pope  to  Rome,  Poland,  and 
the  abandonment  of  Spain,  Holland,  and  Switzer- 
land !  This  is  what  you  call  the  spirit  of  moder- 
ation !  You  are  intent  only  on  profiting  by  every 
chance;  you  alternately  transport  your  alliance 
from  one  camp  to  the  other,  in  order  to  be  always 
a  sharer  in  the  spoil,  and  you  speak  to  me  of 
your  respect  for  the  rights  of  independent  states  ! 
You  would  have  Italy  ;  Russia,  Poland  ;  Prussia, 
Saxony  ;  and  England,  Holland  and  Belgium :  in 


fine,  peace  is  only  a  pretext ;  you  are  all  intent 
on  dismembering  the  French  empire  !  And  Aus- 
tria thinks  she  has  only  to  declare  herself,  to 
crown  such  an  enterprise !  You  pretend  here, 
with  a  stroke  of  the  pen,  to  make  the  ramparts 
of  Dantzic,  Custrin,  Glogau,  Magdeburg,  Wesel, 
Mentz,  Antwerp,  Alessandria,  Mantua,  in  fine,  all 
the  strong  places  of  Europe,  sink  before  you,  of 
which  I  did  not  obtain  possession  but  by  my  vic- 
torious arms !  And  I,  obedient  to  your  policy, 
am  to  evacuate  Europe,  of  which  I  still  hold  the 
half;  recall  my  legions  across  the  Rhine,  the 
Alps,  and  the  Pyrenees  ;  subscribe  a  treaty  which 
would  be  nothing  but  a  vast  capitulation ;  and 
place  myself  at  the  mercy  of  those  of  whom  I  am 
at  this  moment  the  conqueror !  It  is  when  my 
standards  float  at  the  mouths  of  the  Vistula,  and 
on  the  banks  of  the  Oder ;  when  my  army  is  at 
the  gates  of  Berlin,  and  Breslau ;  when  I  am  at 
the  head  of  three  hundred  thousand  men,  that 
Austria,  without  drawing  a  sword,  expects  to 
make  me  subscribe  such  conditions !  This  is  an 
insult,  and  it  is  my  father-in-law  that  has  ma- 
tured such  a  project ;  it  is  he  that  sends  you  on 
such  a  mission ! "  * 

While  thus  speaking,  the  emperor  was  still 
walking,  and  Metternich  by  his  side.  Whenevei 
they  passed  the  hat  lying  on  the  floor,  Napoleon 
east  a  quick  side-glance  on  Metternich,  who  ap- 
peared to  take  no  notice  of  the  hat,  and  it  seemed 
entirely  accidental  that  he  slightly  wheeled  aside, 
and  thus  succeeded  in  passing  without  touch- 
ing  it. 

"  You,"  cried  Napoleon,  in  a  thundering  voice, 
"have  taken  upon  yourself  the  mission  of  in* 
suiting  me,  and  you  think  I  will  quietly  sub- 
mit ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  Metternicb,  with  his  imperturbable 
calmness,  "  I  believe  you  have  already  punished 
me  for  it ! " 

Now  for  the  first  time  his  eyes  turned  signifi- 
cantly toward  his  hat,  and  then  fixed  themselves 
steadfastly  on  the  emperor.  They  did  not  dare 
to  threaten,  but  they  defied  Napoleon.  They 


*  This  whole  speech  contains  only  Napoleon's  words  — 
Vide  1'ain,  "Mannscrit  de  1818,"  voL  i. 


NAPOLEON  AND   METTERNICII. 


197 


11 .  i 

; 


said  :  "  You  have  insulted  me  by  knocking  my  hat 
out  of  my  hand.  I  will  not  pick  it  up,  but  de- 
mand satisfaction.'' 

Possibly  Napoleon  understood  this  language, 
for  a  smile,  full  of  sarcasm  and  contempt,  played 
around  his  lips,  und  he  slightly  shrugged  his 
shoulders. 

"  I  beg  you  to  consider,  besides,"  added  Met- 
ternich,  calmly,  "  that  I  am  here  only  because 
my  sovereign  has  commissioned  and  ordered  me 
to  repair  to  you.  and  that,  as  a  faithful  servant, 
I  have  repeated  only  what  the  emperor  command- 
ed me." 

"Ah,"  cr'ad  Napoleon,  with  a  harsh  laugh, 
"  you  wish  to  make  me  believe  that  you  are  but 
the  emperor's  echo  ?  Well,  I  will  suppose  it  to 
be  true.  Then  go  and  tell  your  master  that  I 
henceforth  decline  his  mediation,  and  that  noth- 
ing would  exasperate  me  more  than  the  idea  that 
Austria,  in  return  for  her  crimes  and  her  breach 
of  faith,  should  reap  the  best  fruits  und  become 
the  pacificator  of  Europe.  Ask  the  Emperor 
Francis  in  what  position  he  intends  to  place  me 
regard  to  my  son  ?  Tell  him  he  is  entirely 
ken  if  he  believes  a  disgraced  throne  can  be 
A  refuge  in  France  for  his  daughter  and  grand- 
son.* That  is  my  reply  to  the  Emperor  Francis. 
Go  !" 

]tfetternich  bowed ;  considering  the  emperor's 

rds  equivalent  to  his  dismissal,  he  turned  and 
crossed  the  room.  His  way  led  him  past  his  hat ; 
he  took  no  notice  of  it,  but  quietly  walked  on 
toward  the  door. 

"  He  does  not  wish  to  take  his  hat,"  thought 

poleon. 

Metternich  reached  the  door,  turned  again  to 
the  emperor,  and  made  him  a  last  reverential 
bow. 

"One  word  more,  Count  Metternich!"  cried 
Napoleon.  "  Come,  I  have  still  something  to  say 

you." 

Metternich  blandly  nodded  assent  and  returned. 

poleon  commenced  again  pacing  the  room,  with 
Hetternich  by  his  side.  The  emperor  now  di- 


LZ 


.: 


*  Napoleon's  words.— Vide  Fain,  "  Manuscritde  1918," 
rol.  L 


rected  his  steps  in  such  a  manner  that  he  him- 
self was  near  the  hat.  "  I  wish  to  prove  to  you, 
:  nieh,"  said  Napoleon,  "  that  I  have  seen 
through  you,  and  that  the  true  reason  of  your 
coming  is  well  known  to  me.  You  did  not  for 
an  instant  believe  that  I  could  accept  these  pro- 
posals, which  would  dishonor  and  annihilate  me; 
you  know  me  too  well  for  that ;  but  they  were 
only  to  be  the  pretext  of  the  real  wish  that 
brought  you  hither.  To  be  able  to  ally  yourself 
in  a  seemingly  loyal  manner  with  my  enemies, 
you  want  to  get  rid  of  the  alliance  which  is  still 
connecting  Austria  with  France.  In  direct  con- 
tradiction to  all  that  Austria  has  hitherto  said  to 
me,  you  wish  to  annul  the  treaty  of  Paris.  Ad- 
mit that  this  is  the  case." 

The  emperor,  with  his  eyes  fixed  steadfastly 
upon  Metternich,  crossed  the  apartment.  Sud- 
denly seeming  to  find  an  obstacle  in  his  way,  he 
turned  his  eyes  toward  the  floor.  It  was  Metter- 
nich's  hat,  which  his  foot  had  already  touched. 
As  if  merely  to  remove  the  obstruction,  he  stooped, 
took  up  the  hat,  and  threw  it  with  an  indifferent 
and  careless  motion  on  a  chair  near  the  door. 
He  then  quietly  passed  on  and  fixed  his  eyes 
again  upon  Metternich.*  "Well,  reply  to  me — 
deny  it  if  you  can  ! " 

"  Sire,"  said  Metternich,  in  a  bland,  insinuating 
voice,  "  I  had  already  the  honor  of  telling  you 
that  matters  have  come  to  that  point  that  we 
can  no  longer  remain  neutral,  but  that  we  can 
take  up  arms  for  your  majesty,  only  if  you  con 
sent  to  grant  us  all  that  I  have  laid  before  you, 
and—" 

"  No,"  interrupted  Napoleon,  proudly,  "  do  not 
repeat  the  insult !  The  interview  is  ended.  I 
know  what  you  desire,  and  I  do  not  intend  to  dis- 
appoint you !  I  will  not  be  a  dead  weight  upon 
my  friends,  nor  raise  the  slightest  objection  to 
the  abandonment  of  the  treaty  that  allies  me  with 
Austria,  if  such  be  the  wish  of  the  Emperor 
FraiK-is.  I  shall  to-morrow  repeat  this  to  you  in 

*  Vide  "  M6moires  de  la  Dnchesse  d'Abrantes,"  vol. 
xvi.,  p.  173.  There  Is  another  version  of  this  scene,  ac 
cording  to  which  it  was  not  Metternich's,  but  the  emper 
or's  hat  that  fell  to  the  fliwr.— Vide  Honnayr,  "  Lebens- 
bilder,"  vol.  ill.,  i>.  , 


198 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


writing  and  in  due  form.  Now  we  are  through — 
farewell ! "  He  turned  bis  back  on  Count  Met- 
ternicb,  with  a  quick  nod,  and  continued  his  way 
across  the  room. 

Metternich  cast  a  .ast  smiling  glance  on  him ; 
went  with  rapid,  soft  steps  to  the  chair,  took  his 
bat  which  the  emperor  had  picked  up,  hastened 
across  the  room,  and  went  out  without  a  word  or 
a  bow. 

When  Napoleon  heard  him  close  the  door, 
"He  is  gone,"  he  murmured,  "the  alliance  is 
broken.  I  have  now  no  ally  but  myself ! "  For 
a  moment  he  looked  melancholy,  and  then  start- 
ing glanced  at  the  small  door  leading  into  the 
cabinet  of  Baron  Fain,  his  private  secretary.  He 
remembered  that  his  two  dukes  were  there,  and 
that  they  could  not  only  hear  but  see  all.  Com- 
posing his  agitated  face,  he  shouted  in  a  merry 
voice,  "  Caulaincourt  and  Maret,  come  in  ! " 

The  door  opened  immediately;  the  Dukes  de 
Bassano  and  Vicenza  appeared  on  the  threshold 
and  reentered  the  room.  "Well,  have  you  heard 
every  thing  ?  "  asked  Napoleon. 

"  Yes,  sire." 

"  And  Fain  ?  has  he  taken  notes  ?  " 

"  Sire,  he  has  written  down  every  thing  as  far 
as  it  was  possible,  considering  the  rapidity  of  the 
conversation."  * 

"  Ah,  I  shall  read  it  afterward,"  said  the  em- 
peror ;  "  it  is  always  good  to  know  hi  what  man- 
ner we  shall  be  recognized  by  posterity.  Now, 
gentlemen,  since  you  have  heard  all,  you  under- 
stand that  war  is  unavoidable,  and  that  Austria 
will  side  with  my  enemies." 

"Sire,  we  have  heard  it,  and  it  has  filled  our 
souls  with  uneasiness  and  anxiety,"  said  Maret. 


*  Fain,  "M6moires  de  1818. '  Fain  gives  a  full  account 
of  this  Interview,  and  I  have  strictly  followed  his  n  xrra- 
ttf*. 


"Perhaps,  nevertheless,  a  compromise  may 
still  be  possible,"  exclaimed  Caulaincourt.  "  The 
armistice  has  not  yet  expired,  and,  in  accordance 
with  the  orders  of  your  majesty,  I  have  already 
made  the  necessary  overtures  for  prolonging  it  to 
the  15th  of  August." 

"  It  will  be  prolonged,  you  may  depend  upon 
it,"  said  Napoleon,  "for  the  allies  need  time  for 
completing  their  preparations.  We  shall  have 
an  armistice  to  that  time,  but  then  war  will  break 
out  anew,  and  it  will  be  terrible.  I  shall  not 
indeed  wage  it  as  emperor,  but  as  General  Bona- 
parte." * 

11  Oh,  sire,"  sighed  Maret,  "  the  whole  world  is 
longing  for  peace,  and  France,  too,  entertains  no 
more  ardent  wish.  I  have>  received  many  unmis- 
takable intimations  in  regard  to  it.  Paris  is  not 
only  hoping  for  peace,  but  expecting  it  confidently, 
after  the  two  victories  by  which  your  majesty  has 
humiliated  your  enemies." 

"  Paris  is  very  badly  informed  if  she  thinks, 
peace  to  depend  upon  me,"  replied  Napoleon,  in 
dignantly.  "  You  see  how  greedily  Austria  aug- 
ments the  demands  of  my  enemies,  by  placing 
herself  at  their  head.  We  were  always  obligee 
to  conquer  peace.  Very  well,  we  will  conquer  ii 
again.  The  armistice  will  be  prolonged  to  thd 
15th  of  August — time  enough  to  complete,  on 
our  side,  all  necessary  preparations,  and  decree  a 
new  conscription.  But  then,  after  the  armistice, 
war — a  decisive,  bloody  war — a  war  that  will  lead 
to  an  honorable  peace !  Believe  me,  he  who  has 
always  dictated  peace  cannot  submit  to  it  with 
impunity.  Courage,  therefore!  France  wanta 
peace,  and  so  do  I,  but  my  cannon  shall  dictate 
the  terms,  and  my  sword  write  them  ! "  f 


*  Napoleon's  words. 

t  Napoleon's  words.— Vide    "  Memoires   du  Due   «U 
Rovigo,"  voL  it 


DELIVERANCE    OF    GERMANY. 


CHAPTER    XXXY. 

ON*   THE    KATZBACH. 

TOE  armistice  expired  on  the  15th  of  August, 
md  hostilities  were  resumed.  The  state  of  af- 
fairs, however,  was  essentially  different  from  what 
it  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  armistice; 
for,  at  that  time,  Xapoleon  had  just  obtained  two 
victories.  During  the  armistice,  the  allies  had 
won  an  important  victory  over  him ;  they  had 
trained  Austria  over  to  their  side,  and  now,  at  the 
renewal  of  hostilities,  Austria  reenforced  the  allies 
with  two  hundred  thousand  men.  For  nearly 
fourteen  years  Xapoleon  was  invariably  the  more 
powerful  enemy,  not  only  on  account  of  his  mili- 
tary genius,  but  of  the  numerical  strength  and 

ent  organization  of  his  forces. 
For  the  first  time  the  enemy  opposed  him  with 
superior  forces,   and   this  vast  host    struggled, 
moreover,  with  the  utmost   enthusiasm   for  the 
iveranee  of  the  fatherland — with  the  energy  of 
and  wrath  against  him  who  had  so  long 
laved  and  oppressed  it.     But  Napoleon  still 
possessed  his  grand  military  genius.     Soon  after 
expiration  of  the  armistice,  he  gained  a  new 
y  over  the  allies,  that  of  Dresden ;  *  and  in 
-  1. attic  Morenu,  the  French  general,  who  was 
ting  against  his  own  countrymen,  was  struck 
a  French  ball,  which  caused  his  death  in  a  few 


tary  { 
excell 


rooreo' 

K! 



*  The  battle  of  Dresden  lasted  two  days,  thp  2Cth  and 
27th  of  August.  Morean  died  on  the  2d  of  September, 
»nu  the  battle  of  Culm  wa>  fought  on  the  29th  and  80th 

August. 


days.  But  the  allies  took  their  revenge  for  the 
defeat  of  Dresden  in  the  great  victory  of  Culm, 
where  they,  also  after  a  two  days'  battle,  achieved 
a  brilliant  triumph  over  General  Yandamme. 

General  Blucher  and  his  Silesian  army  had  not 
participated  in  these  battles.  At  the  tune  when 
the  Russians,  the  Austriana,  and  a  part  of  the 
Prussians,  were  fighting  and  yielding  at  Dresden, 
Blucher  was  at  length  to  attain  his  object,  and 
meet  the  enemy  in  a  pitched  battle.  Since  the 
20th  of  August  he  stood  near  Jauer  with  his 
army,  which  was  ninety  thousand  strong,  com- 
posed of  Russians  and  Prussians,  and  awaited 
nothing  more  ardently  than  the  approach  of  the 
enemy,  in  order  to  fight  a  general  battle.  For- 
tune seemed  to  favor  his  wishes,  for  Napoleon 
himself  was  advancing.  On  the  21st  of  August 
the  scouts  reported  the  approach  of  the  hostile 
columns,  who  had  crossed  the  Bober  at  Lowen- 
berg.  Bluther's  eyes  lit  up  with  delight ;  he 
stroked  his  white  mustache,  and  said  :  "  We  shall 
have  a  fight !  To-morrow  we  meet  the  French !" 

But  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  August  dawned, 
and  the  eyes  of  the  general  were  still  unable  to 
descry  the  advancing  enemy.  Yet  his  scouts  re- 
ported that  the  French  army  was  advancing,  and 
that  only  a  detachment  had  set  out  for  Dresden, 
"  Then  Bonaparte  has  left  with  this  detachment," 
grumbled  Blucher;  "for  if  he  were  still  with 
them,  the  French  would  not  creep  along  like 
sns.ils." 

At  length,  on  the  26th  of  August,  the  general's 
wishes  seemed  to  be  near  fulfilment.  The  French 


200 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


were  advancing.  They  approached  the  banks  of 
the  Katzbach,  to  the  other  side  of  which  the  Si- 
lesian  army  was  moving.  "  We  shall  have  a 
fight ! "  shouted  General  Blucher,  exultingly ; 
"  the  good  God  will  have  mercy  on  me  after  all, 
and  treat  me  to  a  good  breakfast !  I  have  been 
hungering  for  the  French  so  long,  that  I  really 
thought  I  should  die  of  starvation.  I  shall  fur- 
nish the  roast ;  and,  that  there  may  be  something 
to  drink,  the  rain  is  poiiring  down  from  heaven 
as  though  all  the  little  angels  on  high  were  weep- 
ing for  joy  because  they  are  to  have  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  old  Blucher  at  work  ! — Glorious  hosts 
in  heaven ! "  added  Blucher,  casting  a  glance  at 
the  leaden  sky,  "  now  do  me  only  the  favor  to  put 
an  end  to  your  weeping,  and  do  not  give  us  too 
much  of  a  good  thing.  Pray  remember  that  you 
put  under  water  not  only  the  enemy,  but  our- 
selves, your  friends.  Do  not  soften  the  soil  too 
much,  else  not  only  the  French  will  stick  in  the 
mud,  but  ourselves,  your  chosen  lifeguard !  " 

But  "  the  little  angels  on  high  "  poured  down 
their  "  tears  of  joy "  in  incessant  torrents  from 
early  dawn.  It  was  one  of  those  continuous  rains 
from  a  dull  gray  sky,  giving  little  hope  of  fine 
weather  for  many  days.  The  soil  was  softened, 
the  mountain-torrents  swollen,  and  vast  masses 
of  water  foamed  into  the  Katzbach,  so  that  this 
peaceful  little  stream  seemed  a  furious  river.  A 
violent  norther  was  blowing,  and  driving  the  rain 
into  the  faces  of  the  soldiers,  drenching  their  uni- 
forms, penetrating  the  muskets,  and  moistening 
the  powder.  » 

"  Well,  if  the  boys  cannot  shoot  to-day,  they 
will  have  to  club  their  muskets,"  said  Blucher, 
cheerfully,  when  he  and  his  suite  rode  out  of 
Bollwitzhof,  his  headquarters,  to  reconnoitre  the 
position  of  the  French. 

But  the  wind  and  rain  rendered  a  reccnnois- 
sauce  a  matter  of  impossibility.  The  enemy  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen,  but  still  the  dull  noise  of 
rumbling  cannon  and  trotting  horses  was  heard 
at  a  distance,  and  the  patrols  reported  that  they 
had  seen  the  foe  approaching  the  Katzbach  in 
heavy  columns ;  not,  however,  on  the  other  bank, 
jut  on  this  side.  At  this  moment  General  Gneise- 


nau  came  up  at  a  full  gallop.  He  had  gone  out 
toward  the  pickets  to  reconnoitre,  and  came  back 
to  report  that  the  French  were  forming  in  line  of 
battle  at  a  short  distance  on  the  plateau  near 
Eichholz,  and  that  they  had  crossed  to  the  right 
side  of  the  Katzbach. 

"  Right  or  left,"  said  Blucher,  "  it  is  all  the  same 
to  me,  provided  we  have  them.  If  they  have 
already  crossed  the  river,  well  then  they  know 
the  road,  and  will  be  better  able  to  find  their  way 
back.  Let  us  allow  them  to  cross,  until  there  are. 
enough  of  them  on  this  side."  Then,  turning  with 
noble  dignity  toward  his  officers,  he  added,  ic 
an  entirely  changed,  grave,  and  measured  tone :; 
"  Gentlemen,  the  battle  will  commence  in  a  few 
hours.  Promptness  and  good  order  are  of  vital 
importance  now. — The  orderlies ! " 

The  orderlies  hastened  to  him.  u  You  will  ride 
to  General  York,  who  is  occupying  the  plateau 
of  Eichholz,  and  tell  him  to  allow  as  many  French 
as  he  thinks  he  can  beat  to  march  up  the  ascent, 
and  then  he  is  to  charge  them ! "  shouted  Blu- 
cher  to  the  first  orderly,  and,  while  he  sped  away 
at  a  furious  gallop,  the  general  turned  to  the 
second.  "  You  will  hasten  to  General  von  Sacker 
and  tell  him  that  it  is  time  for  attacking  the 
French! — And  we,  gentlemen,"  he  added,  ad- 
dressing  his  staff,  "will  place  ourselves  at  the 
head  of  our  troops.  The  soldiers  must  have  their 
meals  cooked  by  two  o'clock;  all  the  columns 
will  then  commence  moving.  When  the  enemy 
falls  back,  I  expect,  above  all,  the  cavalry  to  do 
their  duty,  and  to  act  with  great  courage.  The 
foe  must  find  out,  that  on  retreating  he  can- 
not get  out  of  our  hands  unhurt.  And  now,  for- 
ward !  The  battle  begins  at  two  o'clock  ! "  He 
spurred  his  horse,  and  galloped  again  toward  the 
troops.  With  a  serene  face  and  joyful  eyes  he 
rode  along  the  front.  "  Boys,"  he  shouted, 
"  cook  your  dinners  quickly,  do  not  burn  your 
mouths,  and  do  not  eat  your  soup  too  hot ;  but 
when  you  have  eaten  it,  then  it  is  time  for  cook- 
ing a  whipping  soup  for  the  French." 

"  Yes.  Father  Blucher,  we  will  cook  it  for  them  !" 
shouted  the  soldiers. 

"  I  am  afraid  that  soup  won't  agree  wUh  the 


ON    THE   KATZBACH. 


201 


French,"  said  Blucher,  with  a  humorous  wink. 
"  Blue-bean  soup  is  hard  to  digest.  But  they 
will  have  to  swallow  it,  whether  they  like  it  or 
or  not,  won't  they  ?  " 

,  they  will!"  laughed  the  soldiers;  and 
Blucher  galloped  over  to  the  other  regiments,  to 
fire  their  hearts  by  similar  greetings. 

It  was  two  o'clock !  "  Boys,  the  fun  will  com- 
mence now  ! "  shouted  Blucher's  powerful  voice. 
"Xow  I  have  French  soldiers  enough  on  this 
side  of  the  river.  Forward  !  " 

Forward  they  went,  at  a  double-quick,  directly 
at  the  French.  The  cannon  boomed,  the  mus- 
ketry rattled ;  but  the  rain  soon  silenced  the 
hitter. 

"  Boys,1'  shouted  Major  von  Othegraven  to  his 
battalion  of  the  Brandenburg  regiment,  "  if  we 
cannot  shoot  them,  we  can  club  them  ! "  And 
amid  loud  cheers  the  soldiers  turned  their  mus- 
kets, and  struck  their  enemies  with  the  butts.  A 
terrible  hand-to-hand  struggle  ensued — howls  of 
pain,  dreadful  abuse  and  imprecations  burst  from 
both  sides  ;  but  at  length  they  ceased  on  this  part 
of  the  field  :  the  Brandenburg  soldiers  had  killed 
a  wl-ole  French  battalion  with  the  stocks  of  their 
muskets  !  * 

The  battle  raged  on  amid  the  terrible  storm 
ing  on  the  combatants.     The  wind  blew  vio- 

tly,  and  the  rain  descended  in  torrents.     The 

en  sank   ankle-deep  in  the  softened  soil,  but 
"Forward  !  "  sounded  the  battle-cry,  and  the  sol- 
iers  left  their  shoes  in  the  mud,  Hushing  in  their 

cks  or  bare-footed  on  the  enemy,  who  fought 
ith   lion-hearted    courage,    here    receding    and 

ere  advancing. 

"Father  Blucher,  we  are  doing  well  to-day ! " 
the  soldiers  to  their  chieftain,  galloping 
up  to  the  infantry. 

u  Yes,  we  are  doing  well,"  cried  Blucher ;  "  but 
wait,  boys—we  shall  do  still  better  !  " 

At  this  moment  the  artillery  boomed  from  the 
other  side.  Two  officers  galloped  up  to  Bluchcr. 
One  was  the  orderly  he  had  sent  to  General  von 
Sacken. 


*  Beitzke,  vol.  11.,  y.  204. 


"  What  reply  did  General  von  Sacken  make  ?  " 
shouted  Blucher. 

"  '  Reply  to  the  general,  "  Hurrah! ' "  *  was  all 
he  said,  your  excellency." 

"  A  splendid  comrade  !  "  cried  Blucher,  merrily. 

"  General,"  said  the  second  officer,  in  an  under- 
tone, "  I  beg  leave  to  make  a  communication  in 
private." 

"  In  private  ?  Xo  communications  will  be  made 
in  private  to-day,"  replied  Blucher,  shaking  his 
head ;  "  my  staff-officers  must  hear  every  thing." 
And  he  beckoned  to  his  aides  and  officers  to  come 
closer  to  him. 

"  Your  excellency  then  commands  me  to  utter 
aloud  what  I  have  to  say  ?  " 

"Well,  speak  directly,  and,  if  you  like,  so 
loudly  that  the  French  will  hear,  too  !  " 

"  Well,  then,  general,  I  have  to  tell  you  that 
no  time  is  to  be  lost,  and  that  we  must  hasten  to 
advance,  for  the  Emperor  Napoleon  himself  ia 
coming  up  at  the  head  of  his  troops ;  he  is  al- 
ready in  the  rear  of  your  excellency." 

"  Ah,"  inquired  Blucher,  with  perfect  composure, 
"  is  the  Emperor  Xapoleon  in  my  rear  ?  Well,  I 
am  glad  of  it ;  then  he  is  able  to  do  me  a  great 
favor."  He  turned  his  eyes  again  toward  the  bat- 
tle array  with  a  defiant  smile,  as  if  confident  of 
final  victory. 

The  victory  was  not  decided,  although  the  mur- 
derous struggle  had  lasted  already  an  hour.  Mar- 
shal Macdonald  constantly  moved  up  fresh  troops, 
and  Blucher  had  sufficient  reserves  to  meet  them. 
Here  the  Prussians  gave  way,  and  there  the 
French.  From  the  right  wing  of  the  Prussian 
army  orderlies  informed  General  Blucher  that 
General  York,  with  his  troops,  had  repulsed  the 
enemy,  and  was  advancing  victoriously ;  messen- 
gers hastened  to  him  from  the  left  wing,  and  told 
him  that  General  Langeron  was  about  to  fall  back, 
that  the  Prussian  cavalry  were  retreating,  and  th« 
h  cavalry  approaching  in  dense  masses,  and 
that  the  Prussian  batteries  were  in  imminent 
danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Blucher  uttered  an  oath — a  single  savage  oath ; 

*  Beltike,  roL  1i.,  p.  20L 


202 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


then  he  turned  his  head  aside  and  shouted,  "  Hen- 
nemann  !  pipe-master  ! " 

Christian  Hennemann  galloped  up  immediate- 
ly. He  was  in  full  hussar-uniform,  but  did  not 
belong  to  the  ranks  ;  he  was  in  the  suite  of  his 
general,  and  had  to  be  constantly  near  him.  On 
the  pommel  of  his  saddle  was  a  long  iron  box, 
and  in  his  mouth  a  short  clay  pipe.  "  General, 
here  I  am  !  " 

"  Give  me  a  short  pipe,  for  now  we  charge  the 
enemy ! " 

Hennemann  took  the  pipe  from  his  mouth, 
handed  it  to  the  general,  and  said,  with  the  ut- 
most equanimity :  "  Here  it  is  !  It  has  been 
burning  some  time  already,  and  I  began  to  think 
the  general  had  entirely  forgotten  the  pipe  and 
myself." 

Blucher  put  the  pipe  into  his  mouth.  At  this 
moment  a  Brandenburg  regiment  of  lancers  gal- 
loped up,  headed  by  Major  von  Katzeler,  Blu- 
cher's  former  adjutant.  "  We  are  going  to  assist 
our  men ! "  shouted  Katzeler,  saluting  the  general 
with  his  sword. 

"We  are  moving  to  the  relief  of  our  com- 
rades!" cried  a  captain  of  hussars,  thundering 
op  at  the  head  of  his  regiment. 

"  Very  well ! "  said  Blucher.  "  God  bless  me, 
I  must  go  with  them  !  I  can  stand  it  no  longer ! " 
Drawing  his  sword,  he  galloped  with  the  courage 
„  and  ardor  of  a  youth  to  the  head  of  the  column 
of  hussars,  who  received  him  with  deafening 
cheers.  The  bugles  sounded,  and  forward  sped 
Blucher  at  an  impetuous  gallop. 

Suddenly  some  one  shouted  by  his'  side  :  "  Gen- 
eral !  general ! "  It  was  the  pipe-master.  Blu- 
cher, looking  at  him  with  eyes  flashing  with  an- 
ger, said :  "  Begone  !  Ride  to  the  rear  !  " 

"  God  forbid !  "  said  Hennemann,  composedly  ; 
"  here  is  my  place  ;  did  not  the  general  order  me 
always  to  remain  near  him  and  hold  a  short  pipe 
in  readiness  ?  Well,  I  am  near,  and  the  pipe  is 
ready." 

"  I  do  not  want  it  now,  Christian ;  we  are 
about  to  charge  the  enemy.  To  the  rear,  pipe- 
master  ! " 

' 1  cannot  think  of  it,  general ;  no  one  is  at 


liberty  to  desert  his  post,  as  you  told  me  your- 
self," cried  Hennemann.  <  I  am  at  my  post,  and 
will  not  allow  myself  to  be  driven  from  it.  You 
will  soon  enough  need  me." 

"  Forward  ! "  cried  the  general.  And  amid 
loud  cheers  the  hussars  rushed  upon  the  enemy, 
Blucher  fighting  at  their  head,  brandishing  his 
sword  with  the  utmost  delight,  forcing  back  the 
enemy,  and  wresting  from  him  the  advantages  he 
had  already  gained.  The  French  being  driven 
back,  Blucher  suddenly  commanded  a  halt. 

"  Boys  ! "  he  shouted,  in  a  clarion  voice,  "  this 
is  a  butchery  to-day  ;  let  us  stop  a  moment,  take 
a  drink,  and  fill  our  pipes. — Pipe-master,  my 
pipe  ! " 

"  Did  I  not  say  that  you  would  soon  need 
me  ?  "  asked  Hennemann,  in  a  triumphant  voice. 
"Here  is  your  pipe,  general !" 

When  the  horses  had  taken  breath,  and  the 
bold  hussars  a  drink,  and  filled  their  pipes,  the 
general's  voice  was  again  heard :  "  Forward  in 
God's  name  ! — we  shall  soon  be  done  with  the 
French ! " 

Toward  dusk  the  battle  was  decided.  In  wild 
disorder  fled  the  enemy,  delayed  by  the  softened 
soil,  blinded  by  the  rain,  and  obstructed  by  the 
Katzbach  and  the  Neisse,  with  their  'roaring 
waters  swelling  every  moment.  In  hot  pursuit 
was  the  exultant  victor,  thundering  with  his 
cannon,  and  hurling  death  into  the  ranks  of  the 
fugitives.  Field-pieces  were  planted  on  the  banks 
of  those  streams,  and  when  the  French  approach- 
ed, they  were  greeted  with  fearful  volleys.  Turn- 
ing in  dismay,  flashing  swords  and  bayonets 
menaced  them.  Piles  of  dead  were  lying  on  the 
bunks  of  the  Katzbach ;  thousands  of  corpses 
were  floating  down  the  foaming  waters,  showing 
to  Silesia  the  bloody  trophies  of  battle,  and  that 
Blucher  had  at  length  taken  revenge  upon  his 
adversary.  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  all 
was  still  On  all  sides  the  French  had  fled. 


'     ' 


Drawing  hi*  *wurd,  he  -ullopod  with  tin-  COOnffl  ai..l  anior  of  u  youth  at  the  head  of  the  column 

of  hus0an. 


p.  202. 


BLUCHER   AS   A  WRITER. 


203 


CHAPTER     XXXYI. 

BLUCHER    AS   A    WRITER. 

DARKNESS  came,  and  the  rain  continued.  The 
1  dear  little  angels  in  heaven,"  who,  as  Blucher 
said  in  the  morning,  wept  for  joy  at  the  prospect 
of  a  fight,  were  now  perhaps  shedding  tears  of 
grief  at  the  many  thousands  lying  on  the  battle- 
field with  gaping  wounds,  and  whose  last  sighs 
were  borne  away  on  the  stormy  wind  of  the  night. 

Blucher  rode  across  the  field  toward  his  head- 
quarters ;  no  one  was  by  his  side  but  his  friend, 
General  Gneisenau,  and,  at  some  distance  behind 
them,  Christian  Hennemann,  holding  a  burning 
pipe  in  his  mouth.  Absorbed  in  deep  reflections, 
they  were  riding  along  the  dreadful  road  strewed 
with  dead  and  wounded  soldiers,  and  through 
pools  of  blood.  Even  Blucher  felt  exhausted 
after  the  day's  work  ;  his  joy  was  suppressed  by 
the  incessant  rain  that  had  drenched  his  clothes, 
and  by  the  groans  of  the  dying,  which  rent  his 
ears  and  filled  his  soul  with  compassion.  But 
soon  overcoming  his  sadness,  he  turned  toward 
Gneisenau.  "Well,"  he  said,  "this  battle  we 
have  gained,  and  all  the  world  will  have  to  admit 
it ;  now  let  us  think  what  we  may  put  into  our 
bulletin  to  tell  the  people  how  we  have  gained  it. 
For  ten  years  past  Bonaparte  has  issued  such 
high-sounding  accounts  of  his  victories  that  I 
always  felt  in  my  anger  as  though  my  heart  were 
a  bomb-shell  rea.ly  to  burst.  Well,  this  time, 
let  us  also  draw  up  such  a  bulletin  of  victory,  and 
show  that  we  have  learned  something.  Let  us 
proclaim  that  we  have  conquered,  and  draw 
up  the  document  as  soon  as  we  arrive  at  Brech- 
telshof." 

"General,  you  will  h.ivc  to  decide  the  name  of 
the  battle,"  said  Gneisenau.  "  How  is  it  to  be 
known  in  history  ?  " 

"Yes,  that  is  true,"  said  Blucher,  thoughtfully, 
{ it  must  have  a  11:11110.  Well,  propose  one, 
Gneisenau ! " 

'  We  might  call  it  the  battle  of  Brechtelshof, 
se  the  headquarters  of  our  brave  chieftain, 
our  Father  Blucher,  are  at  that  place,"  said 
Gneisenau,  in  a  mild  tone. 


"' 

jecau 


"  No,  do  not  mix  me  up  with  the  matter,"  said 
Blucher,  hastily  ;  "  the  good  God  has  vouchsafed 
us  a  victory,  let  us  humbly  thank  Him  for  it,  and 
not  grow  overbearing. — Wait,  I  have  it  now  !  We 
shall  call  it,  in  honor  of  General  von  Sacken,  the 
battle  of  the  Katzbach ;  for,  by  Sacken's  vigor- 
ous cannonade  from  Eichholz,  on  the  Katzbach, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  his  brave  cavalry,  that 
drove  the  enemy  into  the  river,  we  gained  the  vic- 
tory, and  the  battle  ought  to  have  that  name. 
1  The  battle  of  the  Katzbach !  '—Well,  here  are  our 
quarters  !  " 

"Xow,  general,  you  must  rest,"  said  Gneisenau, 
with  the  tenderness  of  a  sm  "  You  must  change 
your  dress,  take  food,  and  repose  on  your  laurels, 
though  there  is  but  a  straw  mattress  for  you." 

Blucher  shook  his  head.  "  My  clothes  will  dry 
quickest  if  I  keep  them  on  my  body,"  he  said, 
"  and  I  must  do  so,  for  we  have  still  a  great  many 
things  to  attend  to ;  we  must  inform  the  king  of 
our  victory,  take  care  of  our  wounded,  arrange 
for  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  ;  and,  finally,  write 
the  bulletins  of  victory.  We  may  take  refresh- 
ment, but  I  do  not  care  for  laurels  with  it — laurels 
are  bitter.  But  let  us  take  a  drink,  and  smoke  a 
pipe. — Pipe-master ! " 

Fifteen  minutes  afterward,  General  Blucber  en- 
tered with  Gneisenau  the  small  chamber  called  his 
headquarters ;  all  the  other  rooms  were  filled  with 
the  wounded  prior  to  the  general's  arrival  at 
Brechtelshof.  Pains  had  been  taken  to  render 
this  chamber  as  cosy  and  comfortable  as  possible, 
and,  when  Blucher  entered,  he  was  gratified  in 
seeing  a  straw  mattress  near  the  wall,  and  on  the 
table  (beside  a  flickering  tallow-candle  placed  in 
a  bottle)  a  flask  of  wine,  with  a  few  glasses,  and 
near  it  a  large  ink-'tand  and  several  sheets  of 
paper. 

"Well,"  cried  Blucher,  cheerfully,  "let  us  di- 
vide  fraternally,  Gneisenau  ;  I  will  take  the  wine, 
and  you  the  ink.  But,  first,  I  will  give  you  a 
glass,  and  in  return  you  will  afterward  let  me 
have  a  drop  of  ink."  Sitting  down  on  one  of  the 
wooden  stools,  he  quickly  filled  two  glasses  to  the 
brim.  "  Gneisenau,"  he  said,  solemnly,  "  let  ua 
drink  this  in  honor  of  those  who  are  lying  on  the 


204 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


battle-field,  and  who  have  died  like  brave  men ! 
May  God  bid  them  welcome,  and  be  a  merciful 
Judge  to  them  !  Let  us  drink  also  in  commemo- 
ration of  Queen  Louisa  and  Scharnhorst,  who 
both  doubtless  looked  down  upon  us  from,  heaven 
to-day,  and  assisted  us  in  achieving  a  victory.  To 
them  1  am  indebted  for  all  I  am.  But  for  the 
angelic  face  of  the  queen  the  calamity  of  the  ac- 
cursed year  1807  would  have  driven  me  to  de- 
spair and  death  ;  and  but  for  Scharnhorst  I  should 
never  have  been  appointed  general-in-chief.  Why, 
they  all  considered  me  a  bombastic  old  dotard  of 
big  words  and  small  deeds ;  but  Scharnhorst  de- 
fended me  before  the  king  and  the  emperor,  and 
what  I  am  now  I  am  through  him,  because  he, 
the  noblest  of  men,  believed  in  me.  And  I  will  not 
give  the  lie  to  his  faith,  I  will  still  accomplish 
glorious  things — to-day's  work  is  only  a  be- 
ginning." 

"  But  what  you  have  done  to-day  is  something 
glorious,  your  excellency,"  said  Gneisenau.  "  That 
we  have  gained  the  battle,  thanks  to  your  gen- 
eralship and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  troops,  is 
not  the  greatest  advantage.  A  more  important 
one  is,  that  the  Silesian  army  has  been  able  to 
prove  what  it  is,  and  what  a  chieftain  is  at  its 
head.  Now,  all  those  will  be  silenced  who  con- 
stantly mistrusted  and  suspected  us ;  who  tried 
to  sow  the  seeds  of  discord  between  the  Sile- 
eian  army  and  the  headquarters  of  the  allies; 
and  who  were  intent  on  preventing  your  excel- 
lency from  entering  upon  an  independent  and 
energetic  course  of  action." 

"  It  is  true,  they  call  me  a  mad  hussar,"  said 
Blucher,  shrugging  his  shoulders;  "and  Bona- 
parte, as  I  read  somewhere  the  other  day,  calls 
me  even  a  drunken  hussar.  Well,  no  matter  !  let 
them  say  what  they  please.  And,  moreover,  they 
are  all,  to  some  extent,  justified  in  making  such 
assertions ;  for  I  cannot  deny  that  the  years  of 
waiting,  during  which  I  was  obliged  to  swallow 
•ny  grief,  really  made  me  a  little  mad,  and  with 
sobriety  I  never  intend  to  meet  Bonaparte ;  but, 
for  all  that,  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  be  drunk 
with  wine.  1  am  still  intoxicated  with  joy  that  we 
have  at  length  been  allowed  to  attack  the  French, 


: 


and  God  grant  that  I  may  never  awaken  from  thiw 
intoxication !  Well,  Gneisenau,  now  let  us  go  to 
work  ! — you  with  the  ink,  and  I  with  the  wine ! 
Draw  up  the  necessary  instructions  for  the  pur- 
suit of  the  enemy,  and,  in  the  mean  time,  I  will 
consider  what  I  have  to  write." 

Gneisenau  took  the  pen,  and  wrote ;  Blucher 
the  glass,  and  drank.  Half  an  hour  passed  in 
silence  ;  Gneisenau  then  laid  down  his  pen,  for  he 
had  finished  the  instructions  ;  and  Blucher  pushed 
the  glass  aside,  for  the  bottle  was  empty. 

"  I  beg  leave  now  to  read  the  instructions 
your  excellency,"  said  Gneisenau. 

"  No,"  said  Blucher,  "not  now  !  I  have  mysel 
gathered  some  thoughts,  and  if  I  defer  writing 
them  down,  they  will  fly  away  like  young  swal- 
lows. Such  ideas,  that  are  to  be  written  down, 
are  not  accustomed  to  have  their  nest  in  my  head, 
and  for  this  reason  I  will  let  them  out  immedi- 
ately. I  will  write  to  the  king  and  to  the  city  of 
Breslau,  informing  him  that  we  have  gained  the 
battle,  and  the  city  of  Breslau  that  it  ought  to  do 
something  for  my  wounded.  Give  me  the  pen  ;  I 
shall  not  be  long  about  it."  With  extraordinary 
rapidity  he  wrote  words  of  such  a  size  that  ii, 
would  have  been  easy  even  for  a  short-sigh te(. 
person  to  read  them  at  a  distance  ;  and,  although 
they  were  drawn  across  the  paper  very  irregularly, 
the  general  always  took  pains  to  have  broad  in- 
tervals between  the  lines,  that  there  might  be  no 
probability  of  leaving  them  illegible.  A  sheet 
was  soon  filled ;  Blucher  fixed  his  signature,  and 
contemplated  the  paper  for  a  moment.  Half  an 
hour  afterward  t\vo  other  sheets,  filled  with 
strange  and  uncouth  characters,  lay  before  the 
old  general,  and  he  cast  the  pen  aside  with  a 
sigh.  "  It  is  abominable  work  to  write  letters," 
he  said  ;  "  I  cannot  comprehend  why  you,  Gneise- 
nau, who  are  so  good  a  soldier,  at  the  same  time 
know  so  well  liow  to  wield  the  pen.  It  is  not  my 
forte,  although  I  had  a  notion  once  to  be  a 
savant,  and  really  become  a  sort  of  writer.  IP 
those  calamitous  days,  subsequent  to  1807,  de- 
spair and  ennui  sought  for  some  relief  to  my 
mind,  and  made  me  write  a  book,  and  I  believe 
a  good  one." 


BLUCHER   AS  A  WRITER. 


205 


**  A  book  ?  "  asked  Gneisenau,  in  amazement. 
'*  And  you  had  it  printed,  your  excellency  ?  " 

"  N'ot  I ;  I  was  no  such  fool  as  to  do  that.  The 
critics  aii'i  newspaper  editors,  who  talk  about 
every  thing,  and  know  nothing,  would  have 
pounced  upon  my  book,  and  severely  censured  it. 
No,  my  dear  Gneisenau,  one  must  not  cast  pearls 
before  swine.  I  keep  my  book  in  my  desk,  and 
show  it  only  to  those  whom  I  particulaily  esteem. 
When  we  return  home  from  the  campaign  I  will 
let  you  read  it ;  I  know  it  will  please  you,  and 
you  will  learn  something.  My  work  is  called 
'  Observation*  on  the  Instruction  and  Tactics  of 
Cavalry.'  A  splendid  title,  is  it  not  ?  Well,  you 
may  believe  me,  there  is  a  great  deal  in  it,  and 
many  a  one  would  be  glad  of  having  written  it.* 
Let  us  say  no  more  about  it.  Here  are  my  two 
dispatches ;  there  is  the  letter  to  the  king,  and 
here  is  my  letter  to  the  city  of  Breslau,  and  — 
you  must  do  me  a  favor,  Gneisenau.  You  must 
i  what  I  have  written,  and  if  I  have  made 
any  blunders  in  orthography  or  grammar,  be  so 
kind  as  to  correct  them." 

"  But,  your  excellency,"  said  Gneisenau,  "  no 
one  can  express  himself  so  vigorously  as  you,  and 
no  one  knows  how  to  put  the  right  word  in  the 
right  place  as  quickly  as  you  do." 

"  Yes,  as  to  the  words,  you  are  right.  But  the 
grammar!  there's  the  rub.  Men  are  so  foolish 
as  to  refuse  speaking  as  they  please,  but  render 
life  even  more  burdensome  by  all  sorts  of  gram- 
matical rules.  I  have  never  in  my  whole  life  paid 
any  attention  to  them,  but  have  spoken  ray  mind 
freely  and  fearlessly.  But  as  people  really  do 
consider  him  a  blockhead  who  does  not  talk  as 
do,  let  us  humor  them,  and  please  correct  my 
mistakes ;  but,  pray,  do  so  in  such  a  manner  that 
it  will  not  be  found  out."  He  han-led  Gneisenau 
the  pen,  a-id  pu-hiM  the  two  letters  toward  him. 
"Correct  what  I  have  written,"  he  s.,id ;  "in  the 
i  ill  read  what  you  have  written." 

"  And  pray  !»e  so  kind  as  to  correct  it,  too,  your 

*  Blucher  was  proud  of  this  work,   the  only  one   he 
over  wrote,  and  always  referred  to  it  in  terms  of  great 
wtUfcction.— Vide  Vanilia^-n  70:1  Ense,  "Life  of  Prince 
ither  of  Wablstatt,"  p.  580. 


excellency,"  begged  Gneisenau,  "for  possibly  I 
may  have  made  mistakes  weighing  heavier  than 
mere  infractions  of  grammatical  rules,  and  I  may 
not  have  succeeded  in  rendering  your  instructions 
in  words  as  concise  and  distinct  as  you  gave  them 
to  me." 

•'  Well,  we  shall  see,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  smil- 
ing, and  taking  up  the  paper. 

"  Very  good,"  he  said,  after  reading  it  through, 
"  every  thing  is  done  just  as  I  wished  it,  and  if 
all  our  commanders  act  in  accordance  with  these 
instructions,  we  shall  give  the  enemy  no  time  for 
taking  a  position  anywhere,  but  completely  dis- 
perse his  forces  without  being  compelled  to  fight 
another  battle." 

"  And  when  the  city  of  Breslau  reads  this  noble 
and  affecting  plea  for  your  wounded,"  said  Gneise- 
nau, "  they  will  be  nursed  in  the  most  careful 
manner,  and  our  able-bodied  soldiers  will  receive 
wagon-loads  of  food  and  refreshments.  And 
when  the  king  reads  this  dispatch,  announcing 
our  victory  in  language  so  mo  lest  and  unassum- 
ing,  his  heart  will  feel  satisfaction,  and  he  will 
rejoice  equally  over  the  victory  and  the  general 
to  whom  he  is  indebted  for  it." 

"  Have  you  corrected  the  grammatical  blun- 
ders ?  " 

"  I  have,  your  excellency ;  I  have  erased  them 
so  cautiously  that  no  one  can  see  that  any  thing 
has  been  corrected." 

"Well,  then,  be  so  kind  as  to  dispatch  a 
courier." 

"  But,  your  excellency,"  said  Gneisenau,  "shall 
the  courier  take  only  these  two  dispatches? 
Have  you  forgotten  that  you  promised  Madame 
von  Blucher  to  write  to  her  after  every  battle, 
whether  victorious  or  not,  and  that  I  solemnly 
'1  her  my  word  to  remind  your  excellency 
of  it?" 

"  Weil,  it  is  unnecessary  to  remind  me-,"  cried 
Illncher,  taking  up  the  letter  he  had  first  written 
•  Here  is  my  letter  to  Amelia.  She  is  a  faithful 
wife,  and  I  surely  owed  it  to  her  to  tell  her  first 
tiiat  the  Lord  lias  been  kind  and  gracious  enough 
toward  me  to  let  me  gain  the  battle.  But  you 
need  not  correct  ?t.  My  Amelia  Till  not  blame 


206 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


me  for  my  grammatical  blunders,  and  to  her  I 
freely  speak  my  mind." 

"  Did  you  inform  your  wife,  too,  that  you  drew 
your  sword  yourself,  and  rushed  into  the  thickest 
of  the  fray  ?  " 

"  I  shall  take  good  care  not  to  tell  her  any 
thing  of  the  kind,"  exclaimed  Blucher.  "  As  far 
as  that  is  concerned,  I  did  not  speak  my  mind  to 
her.  It  is  true  I  had  promised  my  dear  wife  to 
be  what  she  calls  sensible,  and  only  to  command 
and  play  the  distinguished  general  who  merely 
looks  on  while  others  do  the  fighting.  But  it 
would  not  do — you  must  admit,  Gneisenau,  it 
would  not  do ;  I  could  not  stand  still  like  a  scare- 
crow, while  my  old  adjutant,  Katzeler,  was  charg- 
ing with  the  hussars ;  I  had  to  go  with  them,  if  it 
cost  my  life.  You  will  do  me  the  favor,  however, 
not  to  betray  it  to  Amelia." 

"  Even  though  I  should  be  silent,  your  excel- 
lency, your  wife  would  hear  of  it." 

"  You  believe  Henuemann  will  tell  her  ?  "  asked 
Blucher,  almost  in  dismay.  "  Yes,  it  is  true,  she 
has  ordered  the  pipe-master  not  to  lose  sight  of 
me  in  battle,  and  always  to  remain  near  me  with 
the  pipe.  Well,  the  fellow  has  kept  his  word ; 
but  he  will  now  also  fulfil  what  he  promised  my 
wife,  and  tell  her  every  thing.  Yes,  the  pipe- 
master  will  tell  her  that  I  was  in  the  charge  of 
,he  light  cavalry." 

"  Yes,"  exclaimed  Gneisenau,  smiling,  "  he  will 
betray  to  your  wife  and  to  history  that  Blusher 
fought  and  charged  at  the  battle  of  the  Katzbach 
like  a  young  man  of  twenty.  But  for  the  pipe- 
master,  history  might  not  know  it  at  all." 

"  Gneisenau,  you  are  decidedly  too  sharp," 
cried  Blucher,  stroking  his  mustache.  "Well, 
please  forward  the  dispatches,  and  then  let  us  try 
to  sleep  a  little.  We  must  invigorate  ourselves, 
for  we  shall  have  plenty  to  do  to-morrow.  '  For- 
ward, always  forward ! '  until  Bonaparte  is  hurled 
from  his  throne;  and  hurled  from  it  he  will  be! 
Yes,  as  sure  as  there  is  a  God  in  heaven  !  " 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  GENERALS. 

ON  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  October,  Napo- 
leon took  leave  of  the  King  and  Queen  of  Saxony, 
after  delivering  at  Eilenburg,  whither  he  had  re- 
paired  with  the  royal  family  of  Saxony,  a  solemn 
and  enthusiastic  address  to  the  corps  which  his 
faithful  ally,  King  Frederick  Augustus,  had  added 
to  his  army,  and  which  was  to  fight  jointly  with 
the  French  against  his  enemies.  He  then  en- 
tered the  carriage  and  rode  to  Duben,  followed 
by  his  staff,  the  whole  park  of  artillery,  and  all 
the  equipages.  Gloomy  and  taciturn,  the  em- 
peror, on  his  arrival  at  the  palace  of  Duben,  re- 
tired into  his  apartments  and  spread  out  the 
maps,  on  which  colored  pins  marked  the  various 
positions  of  the  allies  and  his  own  army.  "  They 
are  three  to  one  against  me,"  he  murmured,  bend- 
ing over  the  maps  and  contemplating  the  pins. 
"  Were  none  but  determined  and  energetic  gen- 
erals, like  Blucher,  at  their  head,  my  defeat  would 
be  certain.  They  would  then  hem  me  in,  bring 
on  a  decisive  battle,  and  their  overwhelming 
masses  would  crush  me  and  my  army.  Fortu- 
nately, there  is  no  real  harmony  among  the  allies  : 
they  will  scatter  their  forces,  post  them  here  anc 
there,  and  in  the  mean  time  I  shall  march  to  Ber- 
lin, take  the  city,  repose  there,  and,  with  renewed 
strength,  attack  them  one  after  another.  Ah,  I 
shall  succeed  in  defeating  them,  I — " 

There  was  a  low  knock  at  the  door,  and  Con- 
stant, his  valet  de  chambre,  entered  the  room. 
"  Sire,"  he  said,  "  Marshal  Marmont  and  the  gen. 
tlemen  of  the  staff  are  in  the  reception-room,  and 
request  your  majesty  graciously  to  grant  them  an 
audience." 

An  expression  of  surprise  overspread  the  em- 
peror's face,  and  for  an  instant  lie  seemed  to  hesi- 
tate ;  but  gently  nodding  he  said,  calmly :  "  Open 
the  door.  I  grant  them  the  audience." 

Constant  opened  the  folding-doors,  and  in  the 
reception-room  were  seen  the  marshals  and  gen- 
erals assembled.  Their  faces  were  pale  and 
gloomy,  and  there  was  something  solemn  anj 
constrained  in  their  whole  bearing.  When  Na» 


THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  GENERALS. 


207 


poleon  appeared  on  the  threshold,  the  groups 
dispersed,  and  the  gentlemen  placed  themselves 
in  line,  silent  and  noiseless,  along  the  \vall  oppo- 
site the  emperor,  seemingly  at  a  loss  whether 
they  or  the  emperor  should  utter  the  first  word. 
Napoleon  advanced  a  few  steps.  For  the  first 
time  his  generals,  the  companions  of  so  many 
years  and  so  many  battles,  seemed  unable  to  bear 
the  emperor's  glance.  Napoleon  saw  this,  and  a 
bitter  smile  flitted  over  his  face.  "  Marmont," 
he  exclaimed,  in  his  ringing  voice,  "  what  do  you 
all  want  ?  Speak  ! " 

"  Sire,1'  said  the  marshal,  "  we  wish  to  take  the 
liberty  of  addressing  a  question  and  a  request  to 
your  majesty." 

"First,  the  question,  then!" 

"Sire,  we  take  the  liberty  of  asking  whether 
your  majesty  really  intends  to  cross  the  Elbe  with 
the  army,  and  to  resume  the  struggle  on  the  right 
bank  ?  " 

"  You  ask  very  abruptly  and  bluntly,"  said  Na- 
poleon, haughtily.  "I  need  not  listen  to  you, 
but  I  will  do  so,  nevertheless.  I  will  reply  to 
your  question,  not  because  I  must,  but  because  I 
choose  to  do  so.  Yes,  gentlemen,  I  intend  to 

nsfer  the  whole  army  to  the  right  bank  of  the 

be  in  order  to  occupy  Brandenburg  and  Berlin, 
then  face  about  to  the  river,  and  make  Magde- 
burg the  support  of  my  further  operations.*  This 
is  my  plan,  and  you,  according  to  your  duty,  will 

ist  me  in  carrying  it  into  execution.     I  have 
ed  to  your  question.     Now  let  me  hear  your 

uest" 

said  Marmont,  alter  a  brief  silence, 
now  that  we  have  heard  your  gracious  reply,  I 
dare  to  give  expression  to  our  request,  which  is 
not  only  ours,  but  that  of  all  the  officers  of  the 
army  of  France.  Sire,  we  implore  you,  give  up 
this  bold  plan  of  operations  ;  do  not  vainly  shed 
the  blood  of  thousands  !  The  odds  are  too  great, 
not  only  in  numbers,  but  in  warlike  ardor.  The 
•iggling  against  us  with  the  fanati- 
of  hatrv.l,  anl  his  tiuvrfbM  superiority 
to  secure  victory  to  him.  Our  army,  on 

»  Beitzke,  vol.  ii.,  p.  491. 


the  contrary,  is  exhausted  and  tircu  of  war.  and 
the  consciousness  of  being  ingaged  in.  a  struggle 
that  apparently  holds  out  no  prospects  of  ulti 
mate  success,  is  paralyzing  both  its  physical  and 
moral  strength.  Sire,  we  implore  you,  in  the 
name  of  France,  make  peace  !  Let  us  return  to 
the  Rhine!  Let  us  at  last  rest  from  this  pro- 
longed war  !  Oh,  sire,  give  us  peace  !  " 

"  Oh,  sire,  give  us  peace ! "  echoed  the  gen- 
erals, in  solemn  chorus. 

The  emperor's  eyes  were  fixed  in  succession 
upon  the  faces  of  the  bold  men  who  dared  thus 
to  address  him,  and  who,  at  this  hour,  confronted 
him  in  a  sort  of  open  revolt.  An  expression  of 
anger  flushed  his  face  for  an  instant,  and  his  fea- 
tures resumed  their  impenetrable,  stony  look. 
"  You  have  come  to  hold  a  council  of  war  with 
me,"  he  said.  "  To  be  sure,  I  have  not  sum- 
moned you,  but  no  matter.  It  is  your  unanimous 
opinion  that  we  should  return  to  the  Rhine,  and 
thence  to  France,  avoid  further  battles,  and  make 
peace  ? " 

"  Sire,  we  pray  your  majesty  this  time  to  re- 
press your  military  genius  under  the  mantle  of 
your  imperial  dignity,"  cried  the  marshal.  "  As 
soon  as  the  general  is  silent,  the  emperor  will  per- 
ceive that  his  people  and  his  country  need  repose 
and  peace.  France  has  given  her  wealth,  her 
vigor,  and  her  blood,  for  twenty  years  of  victories, 
and  she  has  joyfully  done  so ;  but  now  her  wealth 
is  exhausted,  her  strength  and  her  youth  are  gone, 
for  there  are  in  France  no  more  young  men,  only 
the  aged,  invalids,  and  children ;  the  fighting-men 
lie  on  the  battle-fields.  Boys  have  been  enrolled, 
and  are  forming  the  young  army  of  your  majesty. 
Sire,  it  is  the  last  blood  that  France  has  to  sacri- 
fice: spare  it!  The  enemy  is  thrice  as  strong  as 
we  are,  and  even  the  military  genius  of  your  ma- 
jesty will  be  unable  to  achieve  victories  in  so  un- 
equal a  struck'.  Listen,  therefore,  to  reason,  to 
necessity,  and  t<>  our  pra\vr;  makepeace.  Sire, 
let  us  return  to  France ! " 

Another  flush  suffused  Napoleon's  face,  but  he 
controlled  his  anger.  "  You  believe,  then,  that  it 
depends  on  me  only  to  make  peace  ?  "  he  asked, 
in  a  calm  voice.  "  You  think  we  would  6nd  no 


208 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


obstacles  in  our  way  if  we  endeavored  now  to  re- 
turn to  France? — that  the  enemy  would  leave  the 
roads  open  to  us,  and  be  content  with  our  evacu- 
ating Germany  ?  This  is  a  great  mistake,  gentle- 
men. I  cannot  make  peace,  for  the  allies  would 
not  accept  it.  They  know  their  strength,  and  are 
intent  on  having  war.  You  say  their  armies  are 
thrice  as  strong  as  mine,  and  that  is  the  reason 
why  we  could  not  conquer  ?  I  might  reply  to  you 
what  the  great  Ccnde  replied  to  his  generals, 
when  he  was  about  to  attack  the  superior  Spanish 
army,  '  Great  battles  are  gained  with  small  ar- 
mies.' And  on  the  following  day  he  gained  the 
battle  of  Lons.  Yes,  gentlemen,  the  victor  of 
Rocroy  and  Lons  was  right;  great  battles  are 
gained  with  small  armies ;  only  we  must  make 
our  dispositions  correctly,  and  scatter  the  forces 
of  our  adversaries,  instead  of  giving  them  an  op- 
portunity to  concentrate  upon  one  point.  Tt  is, 
therefore,  of  vital  importance  for  me  to  hold  the 
line  of  the  Elbe,  for  with  it  I  possess  all  the 
strong  points  of  Bohemia  ;  and,  besides,  the  for- 
tresses of  Custrin,  Stettin,  and  Glogau,  are  close  to 
it.  If  I  have  to  abandon  that  river,  I  abandon  all 
Germany  to  the  Rhine,  with  all  the  fortresses, 
and  the  vast  materiel  stored  there.  That  would 
be  to  weaken  us  and  strengthen  the  enemy,  now 
on  the  left  bank.  I  will,  therefore,  cross  to  the 
right  bank  of  the  Elbe,  for  thence  I  am  able  to 
deploy  my  whole  army  without  hinderance,  and 
connect  my  line  with  Davoust  at  Hamburg,  and 
St.  Cyr  at  Dresden.  We  shall  easily  take  Berlin, 
raise  the  sieges  of  Glogau,  Stettin,  and  Custrin, 
and  become  masters  of  the  situation.  Prussia, 
the  hot-bed  of  this  fermentation  and  revolution, 
will  be  subjugated  and  crushed.  That  will  dis- 
courage the  others,  and  they  will  fall  back  as 
they  have  so  often,  their  plans  will  be  disorgan- 
ized, and  then  I  shall  have  gained  my  cause ; 
for  the  strength  of  the  allies  consists  chiefly  in 
the  fact  that  they  are  temporarily  in  harmony. 
Let  us  disorganize  their  plans,  foster  their  sepa- 
rate interests,  and  we  gain  every  thing.  When 
the  Prussians  see  their  country  threatened,  they 
will  hasten  to  its  assistance;  the  Russians,  Swedes, 
and  Austrians,  will  refuse  to  change  and  reor- 


ganize their  plans  of  operations  for  the  sake  of 
Prussia,  and  discord  will  prevent  them  from  act 
ing.  If  Germany  had  been  united,  and  acted 
with  one  will,  I  could  not  have  taken  from  her 
a  single  village  or  fortress.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, the  people  do  not  act  unanimously ;  wherever 
ten  Germans  are  assembled,  there  are  also  ten 
separate  interests  at  war  among  them,  and  this 
fact  has  delivered  the  country  into  my  hands 
Let  us,  therefore,  profit  by  this  national  peculi- 
arity ;  let  us  stir  up  their  separate  interests,  and 
that  will  be  as  advantageous  as  though  we  gained 
a  battle.  We  shall,  then,  cross  over  to  the  right 
bank  of  the  Elbe,  make  Berlin  our  centre,  sup- 
port our  left  on  Dresden,  our  right  on  Magdeburg, 
and  face  toward  the  west.  At  all  events,  this 
will  bring  about  an  entire  change  of  position,  and 
it  will  then  be  my  task  to  force  my  plans  of  oper 
ation  upon  the  allies."  * 

"  A  task  that  would  be  easily  accomplished  by 
the  genius  of  your  majesty,  which  is  so  superior 
to  that  of  all  the  generals  of  the  allies,"  said  the 
marshal ;  "  but  still  this  whole  plan,  how  admir- 
able soever  it  may  be,  is  altogether  too  bold.  If 
we  pass  over  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Elbe,  we 
would  give  up  all  connection  with  France ;  the 
allies,  it  would  be  believed,  had,  by  skilful  ma- 
noeuvres, cut  us  off — hurled  us  into  inevitable 
destruction.  Moreover — your  majesty  will  pardon 
me  for  this  observation— we  can  no  longer  count 
upon  the  assistance  of  our  German  auxiliaries. 
They  will  abandon  us  at  the  very  moment  when 
we  need  them  most.  Even  Bavaria  is  no  longer 
a  reliable  ally,  for,  notwithstanding  the  benefits 
your  majesty  has  conferred  on  her,  she  is  about 
to  ally  herself  with  Austria.  Sire,  you  said  a  few 
minutes  ago  that  you  counted  upon  the  discord 
of  the  Germans,  but  this  exists  no  more,  or  rather 
it  exists  only  among  the  princes  ;  but  we  have  no 
longer  to  fight  the  latter  alone — we  have  to  strug- 
gle against  the  genius  of  Germany,  which  haa 
risen  against  us,  and  for  the  first  time  the  whole 
nation  is  united  in  hatred  and  wrath.  Sire 
this  national  spirit  is  more  powerful  than  all 


*  Beitze,  vol.  «.,  p.  492. 


THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  GENERALS. 


209 


princes  and  all  armies,  for  it  overcomes  the 
princes,  and  makes  new  armies  spring  as  if  from 
the  ground  to  defend  the  sacred  soil  of  the  father- 
land. Those  armies  we  shall  be  unable  to  con- 
quer :  for  one-half  of  ours  is  composed  of  soldiers  ex- 
hausted by  continued  wars,  and  longing  for  peace ; 
and  the  other  half  of  young,  ignorant  conscripts, 
who  will  yield  to  unwonted  privations.  There- 
fore, sire,  I  dare  renew  ray  prayer,  and  implore 
your  majesty  to  give  up  your  plan  against  Berlin  ! 
Let  us  not  pass  over  to  fhe  right  bank  of  the 
Elbe,  but  march  toward  the  Rhine!" 

"  Is  that  your  opinion,  too,  gentlemen  ?  "  asked 
Napoleon,  turning  toward  the  generals.  "Do 
you,  though  I  have  condescended  to  explain  to 
you  at  length  my  plan,  and  the  motives  that  have 
caused  me  to  adopt  it,  still  persist  in  your  belief 
that  it  would  be  better  not  to  pass  to  the  right 
bank  of  the  Elbe,  but  to  return  to  the  Rhine  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  cried  the  generals,  unanimously,  "  we 
persist  in  our  opinion." 

Xapoleon  drew  back  a  step,  and  a  pallor  over- 
spread his  face ;  but  apparently  he  remained  as 
cold  and  calm  as  ever.  "  My  plan  has  been  deep- 
ly calculated,"  he  said,  after  a  pause;  "I  have 
admitted  into  it,  as  a  probable  contingency,  the 
defection  of  Bavaria.  I  am  convinced  that  the 
plan  of  marching  on  Berlin  is  good.  A  retro- 
grade movement,  in  the  circumstances  in  which 
we  are  placed,  is  disastrous ;  and  those  who  op- 
pose my  projects  have  undertaken  a  serious  re- 
sponsibility. However,  I  will  think  of  it,  and 
inform  you  of  my  final  decision."*  He  saluted 
the  generals  with  a  careless  nod  and  retin 
into  his  cabinet. 

The  generals  looked  with  anxious  faces  at  one 
another  when   the  door  closed.     "What   shall 
now  ?  "  they  inquired.     "  Wait,  and  not 
yield  ! "  murmured  the  n.  nniong  them, 

and  all  agreed  to  do  so. 

With  gloomy  glances  (lid   NapoU-on.  after  his 
rn  to  his  cabinet,  look  at  the  door  that  sep- 
arated him  from  his  mutinous  generals.     He  felt 


J 


*  Nai>oleon's  words.— Vide  Fain,  "  Manuscritdc  1S18,' 


rol.  i. 


li 


that  now  a  new  power  had  taken  the  field  against 
him  that  might  become  more  dangerous  than  all 
the  others,  and  that  was  the  revolt  of  his  gener- 
als. He  heard  distinctly  their  last  words.  They 
had  not  said,  "  We  persist  in  our  opinion,  and 
would  like  to  return,"  but,  "  We  must  return  to 
France."  His  generals,  then,  dared  to  have  a  will 
of  their  own,  and  opposed  to  that  of  their  em- 
peror. They  knew  it,  and  it  did  not  deter  them  ! 

"  Ah,  the  wretches,"  he  murmured  to  himself, 
"  they  are  blind  !  They  will  not  see  that  we  are 
hastening  to  destruction.  They  compel  me  to 
return  as  Alexander's  generals  compelled  htm  to 
return !  Woe  to  us !  We  are  lost ! "  He  sank 
down  on  the  sofa  ;  and  now,  when  none  could  see 
him,  the  veil  dropped  from  his  face,  the  imperial 
mantle  fell  from  his  cowering  form,  and  he  was 
but  a  weak,  grief-stricken  man,  who,  with,  a  pale 
and  quivering  face,  was  uncertain  what  to  do. 
Hour  after  hour  elapsed.  He  was  still  sitting  in 
the  corner  of  the  sofa,  rigid  and  motionless ;  only 
the  sighs  which  heaved  his  breast  from  time  to 
time,  and  the  quiver  of  his  eyelids,  betrayed  the 
life  that  was  still  animating  him. 

The  court-marshal  entered  and  announced  din- 
ner. The  emperor  waved  his  hand  to  him  that 
he  might  withdraw,  and  his  marshals  and  gener- 
als vainly  awaited  him.  They  looked  at  each 
other  inquiringly  and  murmured,  "  He  is  reflect- 
ing !  We  can  wait,  but  we  cannot  yield ! " 

At  the  stated  hour  in  the  afternoon,  the  two 
raphers  of  the  emperor,  Colonel  Bacler  d'Al- 
li;i,  and  Colonel  Duclay,  entered  the  emperor's 
cabinet.  As  usual,  they  rolled  the  table,  covered 
with  maps  and  plans,  before  the  emperor,  and 
then  took  seats  at  the  other  table  standing  in  the 
corner,  which  was  also  covered  in  like  manner. 
They  waited  for  the  emperor,  as  was  his  habit, 
to  speak  and  discuss  his  movements  with  them. 

"  was  silent;  he  took  up,  however,  a  ! 
sheet  of  white  paper,  and  pen,  and*  be^an  tu 
What  did  he  write?  The  topographers 
were  unable  to  see  it ;  they  sat  pen  in  hand, 
and  waited.  But  Napoleon  was  still  silent.  Hour 
after  hour  passed  ;  not  a  sound  of  the  triumphant, 
joyous,  and  proud  life  which  used  to  surround 


210 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


the  victorious  emperor  was  to  be  heard  in  the 
dreary  palace  of  Duben.  The  anterooms  were 
deserted  ;  the  generals  remained  all  day  in  the 
audience-room,  and  gazed  with  sullen  faces  upon 
the  door  of  the  imperial  cabinet.  But  this  door 
did  not  open.  In  the  cabinet  the  emperor  was 
still  on  his  sofa,  now  leaning  back  in  meditation, 
and  now  bending  over  the  map-table,  and  writing 
slowly.  Opposite  him  sat  the  two  topographers, 
mournfully  waiting  for  him  to  speak  to  them.* 
But  Napoleon  wrote,  gazed  into  the  air,  sank 
back  on  the  sofa,  groaned,  raised  himself  again, 
and  wrote  on. 

This  indifference  and  silence  made  a  strange 
impression,  which  frightened  even  the  generals, 
when  the  topographers,  whom  the  emperor  had 
at  length  dismissed  with  a  quick  wave  of  the 
hand,  and  an  imperious  "Go!"  entered  the  au- 
dience-room, and  told  them  of  this  extraordinary 
conduct.  But  Napoleon  had  written  something, 
and  it  was  all-important  for  them  to  know  what. 
They  wished  to  discover  whether  letters  or  plans 
had  been  penned  by  the  emperor,  and  with 
what  he  had  been  occupied  all  day.  "Let  us 
speak  with  Constant,"  they  whispered  to  each 
other.  "  He  alone  will  enter  the  cabinet  to-day. 
He  has  keen  eyes,  and  will  be  able  to  see  what 
the  emperor  has  written."  Constant  consented 
to  cast,  at  a  favorable  moment,  a  passing  glance 
on  the  emperor's  desk.  The  generals  remained 
in  the  audience-room  and  waited. 

An  hour  passed,  when  Constant,  pale  and  sad, 
entered  the  room;  he  held  a  large,  crumpled 
sheet  of  paper  in  his  h;ind.  "  The  emperor  has 
retired,"  he  whispered.  "  He  called  me,  and 
when  I  entered  the  cabinet,  he  was  still  sitting 
on  the  sofa  at  the  map-table,  and  engaged  in 
writing.  Suddenly  he  threw  down  the  pen  and 
seized  the  paper,  crumpled  it  in  his  hand,  and 
threw  it  on  the  floor.  I  picked  it  up,  and  may 
communicate  it  to  you,  for  it  contains  no  secrets." 
All  the  generals  stretched  out  their  hands.  Con- 
stant banded  the  paper  to  Marshal  Marmont. 
The  sheet  contained  nothing  but  large  capital 


*  Odeicoen,  "The  Campaign  in  Saxony  In  1618.' 


letters,  joined  with  fanciful  nourishes.  *  Tht 
generals  gazed  at  each  other  with  bewildered 
eyes.  Those  capital  letters,  this  work  of  a  child., 
was  the  day's  labor  which  the  energetic  emperor 
had  performed  !  The  letters,  traced  so  carefully 
and  elaborately,  made  an  awful  impression  on  the 
beholders — a  whole  history  of  secret  despair, 
stifled  tears  of  grief,  and  bitter  imprecations., 
spoke  from  this  crumpled  sheet  of  paper.  The 
generals  turned  pale,  as  if  imminent  danger  was 
hovering  over  them — as  if  Fate  had  sent  them  its 
Runic  letters,  which  they  were  unable  to  decipher. 
They  left  the  room  in  silence,  bnt  murmured  still, 
"  We  can  wait,  but  we  cannot  yield." 

Night  had  come.  Silence  settled  on  the  mourn- 
ful palace  of  Duben.  The  emperor  lay  on  his 
field-bed,  but  he  did  not  sleep ;  for  Constant,  who 
was  in  the  cabinet  adjoining  the  imperial  bed- 
chamber, heard  him  often  sigh  and  utter  words 
of  anger  and  grief.  In  the  middle  of  the  night 
the  valet  heard  a  loud,  piercing  cry,  and  ran  into 
the  bedchamber.  The  emperor  was  in  agon}, 
writhing,  and  a  prey  to  violent  convulsions.  Ha 
was  ill  with  colic,  which  so  often  visited  him,  an 
the  pallor  of  death  overspread  his  face. 

Constant  hastened  to  bring  the  usual  remedies, 
but  he  did  not  send  for  the  doctor ;  for  he  knew 
that  Napoleon  did  not  like  to  have  any  import- 
ance attached  to  this  illness.  The  pain  at  length 
yielded  to  the  remedies  applied.  The  emperor 
submitted  to  Constant's  entreaties,  and  drank  the 
soothing  tea  which  he  always  took  at  these  evil 
hours,  and  the  efficacy  of  which  in  such  cases 
had  been  discovered  by  the  Empress  Josephine. 
He  put  the  teacup  on  the  table,  and  looked  very 
melancholy.  Possibly  he  remembered  how  often 
Josephine's  presence  had  comforted  him  during 
such  hours — how  her  small  hand  had  wiped  the 
cold  perspiration  from  his  forehead — how  his 
weary  head  had  rested  in  her  lap,  and  how  her 
tender  words  had  consoled  and  strengthened  him. 
Possibly  he  remembered  all  this,  for  he  murmured 
in  a  low  voice,  "  Ah,  Josephine,  why  are  you  not 
with  me  ?  You  were  my  guardian  angel !  My 


I 


*  Constant,  "  M6rnoircs,"  -v  ol.  v.,  p.  26ft 


THE  BATTLE   OF  LEIPSIC. 


211 


star  has  set  with  you!"  Then  his  head  sank 
oack  on  the  pillow,  and  he  closed  his  eyes.  Per- 
haps his  grief  made  him  sleep. 

Eirly  on  the  following  morning  a  carriage 
rolled  into  the  court-yard,  and  Marshal  Augereau 
requested  an  audience  of  the  emperor,  who  had 
reentered  his  map-cabinet. 

"  Augereau,"  said  the  emperor  to  his  marshal, 
"  you  bring  me  bad  news  ! " 

"  Only  news,  sire,  which  your  majesty  has  al- 
ready foreseen.  It  is  the  defection  of  Bavaria, 
and  her  accession  to  the  alliance." 

The  emperor  bent  his  head  on  his  breast.  u  It 
must  be  so.  All  are  deserting  me.  I  must  sub- 
mit. Augereau,"  he  said,  aloud,  "Bavaria  has 
deserted  me,  but,  what  is  still  worse,  my  generals 
have  done  so,  too.  They  will  no  longer  follow 
me.  They  refuse  to  obey  me;  my  plans  seem 
too  rash  and  dangerous.  They  do  not  wish  to  go 
to  Berlin — they  want  peace  !  Do  you  understand, 
Augereau,  peace  at  a  moment  when  all  are  arm- 
ing— when  war  is  inevitable,  and  when  it  is  all- 
important  for  me  to  extricate  myself  as  advan- 
tageously as  possible  from  the  snare  in  which 
we  shall  be  caught  if  the  allies  profit  by  their 
superiority,  and  draw  together  the  net  surround- 
ing us." 

"  Sire,  and  I  believe  they  have  the  will  to  do 
so,"  cried  Augereau.  "  Nothing  but  the  com- 
manding military  genius  of  your  majesty  is  still 
able  to  conquer." 

A  painful  smile  quivered  round  the  pale  lips 

the  emperor.  "  Ah,  Augereau,"  he  said,  "we 
no  longer  the  soldiers  of  Jena  and  Austerlitz. 
I  have  no  longer  any  generals  on  whose  obedience 
I  may  count.  I  shall  give  up  my  plan,  I  shall 
not  pass  over  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Elbe,  but, 
by  taking  this  resolution,  I  renounce  all  victories 
and  successes,  and  it  only  remains  for  me  to  suc- 
b  with  honor,  and  to  have  opened  as  advan- 
ous  a  passage  as  possible  through  Germany 
to  France." 

The  marshals  and  generals  were  again  assem- 
bled in  the  audience-room,  and  gazed  in  sullen 
expectation  at  the  door  of  the  imperial  cabinet. 
Suddenly  the  emperor,  pale  and  calm  as  usual, 


• 


unu 

cuml 

t*ge< 


walked  in,  followed  by  Marshal  Augereau.  All 
eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  emperor,  whose  lips 
were  to  proclaim  the  events  of  the  future. 

Advancing  into  the  middle  of  the  room,  he 
raised  his  head,  and  sternly  glanced  along  the 
line  of  generals.  "  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  in  a 
loud  voice,  "  I  have  changed  my  plan.  We  shall 
not  pass  over  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Elbe,  but 
turn  toward  Leipsic  to-morrow.  May  those  who 
have  occasioned  this  movement  never  regret 
it ! "  * 

A  shout  of  joy  burst  forth  when  the  emperor 
paused.  The  generals  surrounded  him,  now  that 
they  had  attained  their  object,  to  thank  him  for 
his  magnanimity,  and  then  they  cheerfully  looked 
at  each  other,  shook  hands,  and  exclaimed  in 
voices  trembling  with  emotion,  "  We  shall  again 
embrace  our  parents,  our  wives,  our  children, 
our  friends ! " f 

"Ah,  Augereau,"  said  the  emperor,  mourn- 
fully, "  you  see  I  could  not  act  otherwise ;  it  was 
their  will !  But  you,  who  are  of  my  opinion  that 
this  retrograde  movement  is  a  calamity,  will  be 
able  to  testify  in  my  favor  if  the  future  shows 
that  I  am  right.  You  will  state  that  I  was  com- 
pelled to  pursue  a  path  which  I  knew  would  lead 
to  destruction  1 " 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE     BATTLE     OF     LEIPSIC. 

THE  struggle  had  already  been  going  on  for 
two  days.  On  the  15th  and  16th  of  October  the 
Austrians,  Russians,  Prussians,  and  Swedes,  had 
fought  a  number  of  engagements  with  the  French 
between  Halle  and  Leipsic.  The  Austriuns,  or 
the  army  of  Bohemia,  commanded  by  Schwartzen- 
the  general-in-chief,  had  been  defeated  by 
the  French  at  Waciiau  on  the  15th  of  October ; 
but  the  Prussians  and  Russians,  under  Blucher, 
had  gained  a  brilliant  victory  at  Mb'ckern  on  the 
IGth  of  October;  and  though  the  Swedes,  under 


*  Napoleon's  worda.— Constant,  voL  v.,  p.  289 
t  Ibid. 


212 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


Bernadotte,  had  not  participated  in  the  battle, 
and  had,  as  usual,  managed  on  that  day  to  keep 
away  from  the  carnage,  they  had  at  the  same  time 
contrived  to  participate  in  the  glory  of  victory. 

The  French  had  not  gained  a  single  decisive 
battle  during  these  two  days,  and  yet  Napoleon 
himself  was  at  the  head  of  his  forces,  directing 
their  movements.  Thousands  of  his  soldiers  lay  on 
the  blood-stained  field  of  Wachau,  and  thousands 
more  were  mown  down  at  Mockern.  His  army 
was  melting  away  hour  by  hour,  while  that  of  his 
enemies  constantly  increased.  Fresh  reserves 
were  moved  up ;  the  battle  array  of  the  allies 
grew  more  imposing  and  overwhelming,  and  the 
great,  decisive  battle  was  drawing  nigh. 

It  was  the  evening  of  the  second  day,  the  16th 
of  October.  Napoleon,  who  had  his  headquar- 
ters on  the  preceding  day  at  Reudnitz,  four  miles 
from  Leipsic,  removed  them  for  the  night  into 
the  open  field,  from  which  the  city  could  be 
seen,  and  behind  it  the  numerous  fires  of  the 
allies  gleamed  through  the  gathering  shades. 
Beside  the  emperor's  tent  a  large  camp-fire  was 
kindled,  and  near  it,  on  a  small  field-stool,  cov- 
ered with  red  morocco,  sat  Napoleon,  his  gray 
overcoat  closely  buttoned  up,  bis  three-cornered 
hat  drawn  over  his  forehead,  and  his  arms  folded 
on  his  breast.  His  guards,  who  were  encamping 
in  the  plain  in  wide  circles  around  him,  could  dis- 
tinctly see  him,  partially  illuminated  by  the  camp- 
fire.  That  bent,  dark  form  was  their  only  hope 
— a  hope  which  did  not  look  up  to  the  stars 
shining  above  them,  but  which  was  satisfied  with 
a  mortal,  who  they  believed  could  guide  and  pro- 
tect them.  And  he  indeed  could  save  them  from 
death  by  discontinuing  the  struggle,  by  accepting 
peace,  though  at  the  heaviest  cost — at  the  sacri- 
fice of  all  his  possessions  outside  of  France. 

Two  forms  approached  the  camp-fire.  It  was 
only  when  they  stood  by  the  emperor's  side,  that 
e  perceived  them  and  looked  up.  He  recog- 
nized the  grave  faces  of  Marshal  Berthier  and 
Count  Dam. 

"What  do  you  want?"  he  asked,  in  a  husky 
voice. 

"  Sire,"  said  Berthier,  solemnly,  "  we  come,  as 


""' 


envoys  of  all  the  superior  officers  of  the  army,  >; 
lay  our  humble  requests  before  your  majesty." 

"  Have  you  any  thing  to  request  ?  "  asked  Na- 
poleon, sneeringly.  "I  thought  I  had  fulfilled  at 
Duben  all  the  wishes  of  my  generals ;  I  gave  up 
my  plan  against  Berlin  and  the  right  bank  of  the 
Elbe,  and  marched  to  Leipsic,  in  order  to  take 
the  direct  road  to  France.  Are  my  generals  no1; 
yet  satisfied  ?  " 

"Sire,  who  could  suppose  that  on  this  road  we 
would  meet  all  the  corps  of  the  allies  ?  "  sighed 
the  Prince  of  Neufchatel.     "  Even  your  rnajc 
did  not  know  it." 

"  I  did  not,"  replied  Napoleon,  "  but  my  star 
forewarned  me,  and  I  conceived  the  plan  of  going 
to  Berlin.  You  overcame  my  will ;  what  do  you 
still  want  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  Berthier,  almost  timidly,  "  we 
want  to  implore  your  majesty  to  offer  an  armis- 
tice and  peace  to  the  allies.  Our  troops  are 
dreadfully  exhausted  by  these  days  of  incessant 
fighting,  and  are,  besides,  discouraged  by  the  coi> 
tinued  victories  of  our  enemies.  The  general*;, 
too,  are  disheartened,  the  more  so  as  we  are  uns^ 
ble  to  continue  the  struggle  two  days  longer,  b<- 
cause  our  ammunition  begins  to  fail.  We  have 
recently  used  such  a  vast  amount  that  scarcely 
enough  remains  for  a  single  day.  Sire,  if  wo, 
however,  continue  to  fight  and  are  defeated,  the 
road  to  France  is  open  to  our  enemies,  and  your 
majesty  cannot  prevent  the  allies  from  marching 
directly  upon  Paris,  for  France  has  no  soldiers  to 
defend  her  when  our  army  is  routed.  Let  your 
majesty,  therefore,  have  mercy  on  your  country 
and  your  people ;  discontinue  the  war,  and  make 
proposals  of  peace ! " 

"Yes,  sire,"  said  Daru,  "become  anew  the 
benefactor  of  your  country,  overcome  your  great 
heart  for  tbe  welfare  of  your  people  and  your 
army,  whose  last  columns  are  assembled  around 
you,  and  await  life  or  death  from  your  lips.  The 
terrible,  unforeseen  event  has  taken  us  by  sur- 
prise; we  were  not  sufficiently  prepared.  We 
have  no  ambulances,  no  hospitals;  all  the  ele- 
ments of  victory  are  wanting,  for  when  tht  sol- 
dier knows  that,  after  the  battle,  if  he  should  be 


THE   BATTLE   OF   LEIPSIC. 


213 


wounded  or  taken  sick,  he  will  flud  a  good  bed, 
careful  treatment,  and  medical  attendance,  he 
goes  with  a  feeling  of  some  sort  of  security  into 
battle;  but  we  are  destitute  of  tlie-«- 
Your  majesty  knows  full  well  that  this  is  no  fault 
of  mine,  but  still  it  is  so,  and  that  we  lack  almost 
every  thing.  Your  majesty,  therefore,  will  be 
gracious  enough  to  take  a  resolution  which,  it  is 
true,  is  painful  and  deplorable,  but  under  the  cir- 
cumstances indispensable." 

Napoleon  listened  to  the  two  gentlemen  with 
calmness  and  attention.  When  Count  Darn  was 
silent,  he  fixed  a  sarcastic  eye  first  on  him,  then 
on  Berthier.  "  Have  you  any  thing  else  to  say  ?  " 
be  then  asked.  The  two  gentlemen  bowed  in  si- 
lence. 

'!,  then,"  said  Napoleon,  rising,  and,  with 
his  arms  folded,  "  I  will  reply  to  both  of  you. 
Ilcrthier,  you  know  that  I  do  not  attach  to  your 
opinion  in  such  matters  as  much  as  a  straw's  val- 
ue ;  you  may,  therefore,  save  yourself  the  trouble 
of  speaking !  As  to  you,  Count  Daru,  it  is  your 
to  wield  the  pen,  and  not  the  sword ;  you 
are  incapable  of  passing  an  opinion  on  this  ques- 
tion. As  to  those  who  are  of  the  same  way  of 
thinking,  and  whose  envoys  you  are,  tell  them  as 
my  determined  and  final  answer  simply,  'They 
shall  obey ! "'  * 

IIu  turned  his  back  upon  them  and  entered  his 
t  nt.  Constant  and  Roustan  had  taken  pains  to 
give  it  as  comfortable  and  elegant  an  appearance 
as  possible.  A  beautiful  Turkish  carpet  covered 
the  floor.  On  the  table  in  the  middle  of  the 
t'  tit  were  placed  the  emperor's  supper,  consisting 
of  some  cold  viands  on  silver  plates  and  dishes. 
On  another  table  was  an  inkstand,  papers,  books, 
nnd  maps;  and  in  a  nook,  formed  by  curtains 
and  draperies,  stood  the  emperor's  fieM-bed.  The 
sight  of  this  snug  little  room,  and  the  stillness 
surrounding  him,  seemed  to  do  him  good ;  the  soli- 
tude allowed  him  to  let  the  mask  fall  from  his 
race,  and  to  permit  the  melancholy  and  painful 
thoughts  which  fille-1  his  soul  to  reflect  them- 
s.'lves  in  his  features.  With  a  sigh  resembling  a 


*  Napoleon's  wonls.-Vi.lo  "Memoirs  of  the  Duchess 
i  Abrantes,"  vol.  xvi.,  p.  3S&, 


groan  he  sank  down  on  tho  easy-chair.  "  They 
want  to  crush  me  to  earth,"  he  murmured — "to 
transform  the  giant  into  a  pigmy,  because  they 
are  tco  much  afraid  of  his  strength.  Their  fear 
li-ngth  made  brave  men  of  these  allies,  and 
they  have  resolved  to  put  me  on  the  bed  of  Pro 
crustes,  .and  to  reduce  me  to  the  size  of  a  com- 
mon man,  like  themselves.  "Will  it  be  necessary 
to  submit  to  this  ?  Must  I  allow  them  to  cut  off 
my  limbs,  to  save  my  life  ?  "  He  paused,  and  be- 
came absorbed  deeper  in  his  reflections. 

Suddenly  he  was  interrupted  by  approaching  foot- 
steps. The  curtain  of  the  tent  was  drawn  back,  and 
one  of  the  emperor's  adjutants  appeared.  "  Sire/' 
he  said,  "  the  Austrian  General  Meerfeldt,  who  was 
taken  prisoner  by  your  majesty's  troops  at 
Wachau,  has  just  arrived  under  escort,  and  awaits 
your  orders." 

The  emperor  rose  more  quickly  than  usual. 
"  Fate  responds  to  my  questions  and  doubts,"  be 
said  to  himself,  hastily  pacing  his  tent  floor.  "  I 
endeavored  to  find  an  expedient,  and  a  mediator 
appears  between  myself  and  my  enemies.  All  is 
not  yet  lost,  then,  for  Fate  seems  still  to  be  my 
ally."  He  turned  with  a  quick  motion  of  his  head 
toward  the  adjutant.  "  Admit  General  Meerfeldt 
I  will  see  him." 

A  few  minutes  afterward  the  Austrian  general 
entered  the  tent.  The  emperor  quickly  met  him, 
and  gazed  with  a  strange,  triumphant  look  into 
the  embarrassed  face  of  the  count.  "  I  believe 
we  are  old  acquaintances,"  said  Napoleon,  "  for, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  it  was  you  who,  in  1797, 
solicited  the  armistice  of  Leoben,  and  you  partici- 
pated,  too,  in  the  negotiations  which  terminated 
in  the  treaty  of  Campo-Formio." 

"  Yes,  sire,  you  are  right ;  I  had  at  that  time 
the  good  fortune  to  become  acquainted  with 
General  Bonaparte,"  said  Count  Meerfeldt,  with  a 
deep  bow  ;  "  he  was  just  entering  a  career  which 
i  him  from  victory  to  victory,  and  adorned 
his  h'.-ail  with  well-merited  laurels." 

ou  were  one  of  the  signers  of  the  treaty 
of  Campo-Formio,"  exclaimed  Napoleon.  "  But 
that  was  not  all.  Was  it  not  you  who  wished  to 
present,  me  in  the  name  of  the  emperor  of 


214 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


Austria,  with  some  magnificent  gifts  ?  What  was 
it  you  came  to  offer  me  then  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  the  count,  in  confusion,  "  1  had 
orders  to  repeat  that  which  Count  Cobenzl  had 
already  vainly  proposed  to  General  Bonaparte.  I 
had  orders  to  offer  him,  in  the  emperor's  name,  a 
principality  in  Germany,  several  millions  in  ready 
money,  and  a  team  of  six  white  horses." 

"  I  declined  the  principality  in  Germany  because 
I  thought  that  one  ought  either  to  inherit  or  con- 
quer sovereignties,  but  never  accept  them  as  gifts, 
for  he  who  accepts  a  gift  always  remains  the  moral 
vassal  of  the  giver.  I  rejected  the  millions  be- 
cause I  would  not  allow  myself  to  be  bribed  ;  but 
I  did  accept  the  six  horses,  and  with  them  made 
my  entry  into  Germany  and  came  to  Rastadt." 

"  It  was  the  first  triumphal  procession  of  your 
majesty  in  Germany,  and,  like  Julius  Csesar,  you 
could  say,  'I  came,  saw,  and  conquered  ! ' " 

"  Since  then  circumstances  have  greatly  chang- 
ed," said  the  emperor,  thoughtfully ;  "  General  Bo- 
naparte became  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  and  the 
latter  did  what  General  Bonaparte  refused  to  do  : 
he  accepted  at  the  hands  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria 
a  gift  more  precious  than  principalities,  for  it  was 
a  beautiful  young  wife.  Ah,  general  you  are  my 
prisoner,  and  I  ought  not  to  release  you,  but  send 
you  to  Paris,  that  you  might  have  the  good  for- 
tune of  kissing  the  hand  of  the  Empress  of  France, 
the  daughter  of  my  enemy,  and  of  seeing  whether 
the  little  fair-haired  King  of  Rome  looks  like  his 
grandfather.  But  no,  I  will  set  you  at  liberty,  I 
will  make  you  my  negotiator  !  You  were  one  of 
those  with  whom  I  concluded,  in  the  name  of 
France,  the  first  peace  with  Austria ;  I,  therefore, 
commission  you  now  to  mediate  my  last  peace ; 
for  I  want  to  wage  no  more  wars — I  am  tired  of 
this  unceasing  bloodshed;  I  ask  naught  but  to 
repose  in  peace,  and  dream  of  the  happiness  of 
France,  after  having  dreamed  of  its  glory.  Go, 
repeat  this  to  the  emperor,  your  master  ;  tell  him 
that  I  desire  no  more  conquests,  but  repose.  Tell 
him  that  I  long  for  nothing  more  ardently  than 
peace,  and  that  I  am  ready  to  conclude  it,  even  be- 
fore our  swords  have  crossed." 

"  Sire,"  said  Count  Meerfeldt,  hesitatingly,  "  if  ! 


I  repeat  all  this  to  the  emperor,  he  will  ask 
what  guaranties  your  majesty  offers  him,  and  what 
cessions  of  territory  you  propose  to  make." 

"  Cessions  of  territory  !  "  exclaimed  Napoleon. 
"  Yes,  that  is  it !  You  want  to  render  me  power- 
less ;  that  is  all  you  are  fighting  for;  that  is  why 
the  Russians  and  Swedes  are  in  Germany ;  that  h 
why  the  Germans  accept  subsidies  at  the  hands 
of  England  ! — all  to  attain  a  single  object :  to  de- 
prive me  of  my  power,  and  narrow  the  boundaries 
of  France.  But  do  you  think  that  the  Russians, 
the  Swedes,  and  the  English,  will  require  no  in- 
demnities for  services  rendered,  and  that  they  will 
very  conveniently  find  them  in  the  territories 
which  you  propose  to  wrest  from  me  ?  What  will 
Germany  gain  thereby  ?  She  will  have  rendered 
France,  her  natural  ally,  so  powerless  that  she  can 
never  assist  her,  and,  in  return,  she  will  have  se- 
cured a  footing  in  Germany  to  her  three  natural 
enemies,  Russia — that  is,  barbarism  ;  England — 
that  is,  foreign  industry  and  commerce  in  colonial 
goods ;  Sweden — that  is,  navigation  on  the  north- 
ern shores.  But  you  will  do  all  this  rather  than 
leave  me  in  possession  of  my  power,  though  I  tell 
you  that  I  wish  to  fight  no  more,  but  long  for  rv- 
pose.  Is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  Count  Meerfeldt,  in  a  low  voic^, 
"the  allied  sovereigns  are,  perhaps,  familiar  with 
the  words  of  Caesar,  who  said  that  laurels,  if  th<:y 
were  not  to  wither,  should  be  often  bathed  in 
hostile  blood,  and  fed  every  year  with  soil  from 
new  fields  of  victory.  Your  majesty  being  the 
modern  Ccesar,  the  allies  may  be  afraid  lest  you 
should  adopt  this  maxim." 

"  Yes,"  cried  Napoleon,  "  you  are  afraid  of  the 
very  sleep  of  the  lion ;  you  fear  that  you  will  never 
be  easy  before  having  pared  his  nails  and  cut 
his  mane.  Well,  then,  after  you  have  placed  him 
in  this  predicament,  what  will  be  the  consequence  ? 
Have  the  allied  sovereigns  reflected  ?  You  think 
only  of  repairing,  by  a  single  stroke,  the  calami- 
ties of  twenty  years ;  and,  carried  away  by  this 
idea,  you  never  perceive  the  changes  which  time 
has  made  around  you,  and  that  for  Austria  to  gain 
now,  at  the  expense  of  France,  is  to  lose.  Tell 
your  sovereign  to  take  that  into  consideration, 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LEIPSIC. 


215 


Count  Meerfeldt ;  it  is  neither  Austria,  nor  France, 
nor  Prussia,  singly,  that  will  be  able  to  arrest  on 
the  Vistula  the  inum.lation  of  a  half-nomadic  peo- 
ple essentially  conquering,  and  whose  dominions 
extend  to  China.  I  comprehend,  however,  that  in 
V  to  make  peace,  I  must  make  sacrifices  and 
I  am  ready  to  do  so.*  For  the  very  purpose  of 
-<tatin:c  this  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  I  set  you  at 
liberty,  provided  you  give  me  your  parole  to  serve 
no  longer  in  this  campaign  against  France  " 

"Sire,  to  fight  against  France  has  been  so  pain- 
ful a  duty  that  I  joyfully  give  ray  word  to  serve 
no  longer  unless  permitted  to  do  so  for  France — 
that  is  to  say,  for  your  majesty." 

"You  may  go,  then,  and  lay  my  proposal-  be- 
fore the  Emperor  Francis.  You  will  tell  him  this : 
I  offer  to  evacuate  all  fortresses  in  Germany  to  the 
Rhine,  and  consent  to  the  dissolution  of  the  Con- 
federation of  the  Rhine.  I  am  ready  to  restore 
,  Illyria  and  Spain  to  their  former  sovereigns.  I 
further  consent  to  the  independence  of  Italy  and 
Holland.  If  England  refuses  to  grant  peace  on 
the  seas,  we  will  try  to  negotiate  it,  and  Austria  is 
to  be  the  mediator."  f 

"Sire,  these  are  such    satisfactory  pr< 
cried  Count  Meerfeldt,  "  that  I  am  afraid  my  mere 
word  will  be  insufficient  to  convince  my  master 
that  you  really  intend  to  grant  so  much." 

"I  will  give  you  a  letter  to  the  Emperor  Fran- 
cis, in  which  I  shall  make  these  proposals,"  said 
Napoleon,  quickly.  "  Yes,  I  will  write  once  more 
to  the  emperor.  Our  political  alliance  is  broken, 
out  between  your  master  and  me  there  is  another 
bond,  which  is  indissoluble.  That  is  what  I  in- 
voke, for  I  always  place  confidence  in  the  n- 
of  my  father-in-law." 

II '  went  to  his  desk,  and  penned  a  few  lines 
with  a  histy  hand,  folded,  sealed,  and  directed 
the  letter.  "Here,"  he  said,  approaching  the 
t,  "is  my  letter  to  my  father-in-law.  You 
will  immediately  repair  to  him,  and  deliver  it 
into  his  hands.  The  emperor  will  communicate  it 
to  the  other  sovereigns,  and  they  will  take  their 

•Napoleon's  words.— Fain,  "Manuscrtt  de  1318."  voL 
pp.412,  lit. 


i  n\> 

- 

_tn 


-i  VV-  ^L-<  ^l 

tlbld. 


resolutions  accordingly.  Tell  him  that  I  shall 
not  attack  to-morrow,  but  discontinue  further 
hostilities  until  I  have  received  his  answer;  and 
that  I  shall  certainly  expect  him  to  return  an  an- 
swer by  to-morrow.  Adieu,  general  !  When  on 
my  behalf  you  speak  to  the  two  emperors  of  an 
armistice,  I  doubt  not  the  voice  which  strikes 
their  ears  will  be  eloquent  indeed  in  recollec- 
tions." * 

"  It  is  my  last  effort,"  murmured  the  emperor 
to  himself,  when  Count  Meerfeldt  had  left ;  "  if  it 
tail,  nothing  but  a  struggle  of  life  and  death  re- 
mains to  me,  and,  by  Heaven,  I  will  certainly 
fight  it  out !  The  crisis  is  at  hand,  and  I  cannot 
evade  it.  I  will  meet  it  with  my  eyes  open.  The 
laurels  of  Marengo  and  Austerlitz  are  not  yet 
withered.  To-morrow  there  will  be  a  cessation 
of  hostilities,  and  on  the  day  after  to-morrow 
peace,  or  war  to  the  last ! " 

On  the  17th  of  October  no  hostilities  took 
place.  Napoleon  awaited  the  reply  of  his  father- 
in-law.  But  it  did  not  come ;  it  was  deemed 
unnecessary  to  observe  the  forms  of  courtesy 
toward  him  before  whom,  only  a  year  ago,  they 
had  prostrated  themselves  so  often  in  the  dust. 

The  battle  recommenced  on  the  18th  of  Octo- 
ber. The  booming  of  a  thousand  cannon  was  the 
answer  of  the  allies.  Napoleon,  with  only  three 
hundred  cannon,  replied  that  he  understood  this 
answer  to  his  peace  propositions.  Upward  of 
three  hundred  thousand  soldiers  of  the  allies  filled 
the  plains  around  Leipsic.  Napoleon  had  scarce- 
ly one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  to  oppose  to 
them,  and  his  men  were  exhausted  and  discour- 
aged. But  he  appeared  on  this  day  along  the 
whole  line,  encouraging  his  troops  by  his  cheerful 
countenance  and  his  brief  addresses.  He  seemed 
to  infuse  fresh  courage  and  enthusiasm  into  the 
hearts  of  the  French.  They  arose  with  the  hero- 
ism of  former  diys,  and  plunged  into  the  thickest 
of  the  fight ;  the  earth  trembled  beneath  the 
thunder  of  cannon,  the  cheers  of  the  victors,  and 
the  imprecations  of  the  vanquished.  The  French 
did  not  yield  an  inch  ;  they  stood  like  a  wall, 


>n's  word*.— Vide  Boitzke.  vol.  IL,  p. 


216 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


broken  here  and  there,  but  the  gaps  filled  up 
again  in  a  moment,  and  those  who  had  taken  the 
places  of  the  fallen  exhibited  the  same  devoted 
heroism,  for  Napoleon  was  there. 

And  Blucher  was  also  there.  He  baited  oppo- 
site the  enemy  with  his  Silesian  army  (one-half 
of  which  he  had  placed  under  the  crown  prince 
of  Sweden),  composed  of  Russians  and  Prussians. 
Blucher,  too,  fired  the  hearts  of  his  men  by  ener- 
getic words,  and  they  fought  with  matchless  bra- 
very, for  they  fought  before  the  eyes  of  their  gen- 
eral. He  shared  with  them  every  fatigue  and 
danger ;  he  drank  with  them,  when  he  was 
thirsty,  from  one  bottle ;  lighted  his  pipe  from 
their  pipes,  and  spoke  to  them,  not  in  the  conde- 
scending tone  of  a  master,  but  in  their  own  un- 
reserved and  cordial  manner.  Rushing  onward 
with  shouts  of  victory,  they  attacked  the  enemy 
with  irresistible  impetuosity,  forcing  the  French 
to  fall  back,  step  by  step. 

"  Every  thing  is  going  on  right,  Gneisenau ! "  ex- 
claimed Blucher.  "Bonaparte  cannot  hold  out; 
he  must  at  length  retreat.  He  is  contracting  the 
circle  of  his  troops  more  and  more,  and  advanc- 
ing toward  Leipsic.  Ah,  I  understand,  M.  Bona- 
parte ;  you  want  to  march  through  Leipsic  and  keep 
open  the  passage  across  the  Saale !  But  it  wron't 
do — it  won't  do !  For  Blucher  is  here,  and  his 
eyes  are  yet  good. — A  courier !  Come  here ! 
Ride  to  General  York!  He  is  to  set  out  this 
very  night  and  occupy  the  banks  of  the  Saale, 
and  impede  as  much  as  possible  the  retreat  of 
the  enemy,  who  intends  to  fall  back  across  the 
Saale. — Another  courier  !  Ride  to  General  Lan- 
geron !  Be  is  to  return  to-night  to  the  right 
bank  of  the  Partha,  support  General  Sacken, 
and,  as  soon  as  the  enemy  begins  to  retreat,  pur- 
sue him  with  the  utmost  energy." 

"  But,  general,"  said  Gneisenau,  -when  the  cou- 
rier galloped  oft',  "  as  yet  Napoleon  does  not  seem 
to  think  of  retreating.  He  maintains  his  position 
and  offers  a  bold  front." 

"He  will  not  do  so  to-morrow,"  said  Blucher, 
laconically.  "  If  we  do  to-day  what  we  can,  he  is 
annihilated.  God  grant  that  our  victory  may  be 
followed  up,  and  that  they  may  not  grow  soft- 


hearted again  at  headquarters  !  The  Emperor  of 
Austria  never  forgets  that  Bonaparte  is  his  son- 
in-law  ;  nor  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden  that  he 
is  a  native  of  France,  and  he  would  like  to  spare 
his  countrymen  further  bloodshed  ;  nor  the  Em- 
peror of  Russia,  that  at  Erfurt  he  plighted  eternal 
fidelity  to  Napoleon,  and  kissed  him  as  his  brother 
But  our  king,  I  believe,  will  always  remember 
that  Bonaparte  humiliated  and  oppressed  us,  anu 
that  Queen  Louisa  died  of  grief  and  despair.  He 
will  not  suffer  the  others  to  make  peace  too  early, 
and  cause  us  to  shed  our  blood  and  spend  our 
strength  for  nothing.  We  must  be  indemnified, 
and  it  is  by  no  means  enough  for  us  merely  to 
gain  a  victory  over  Bonaparte.  He  must  sur- 
render all  that  he  has  taken  from  us.  Germany 
must  have  satisfaction,  and  I  must  have  mine, 
too ;  for  the  anger  I  have  felt  for  years  has  al- 
most killed  me.  I  want  to  be  even  with  him, 
and  shall  not  rest  before  he  is  hurled  from  his  . 
throne. — What  is  going  on  there  ?  Why  are  they 
cheering  yonder  ?  Look,  Gneisenau,  one  of  the 
enemy's  columns  is  advancing  upon  us.  Do  you 
hear  the  music  ?  What  does  it  mean  ?  " 

"  It  means,  general,"  shouted  an  orderly,  who 
galloped  up,  "that  the  Saxons  are  coming 
over  to  us.  With  thirty-two  field-pieces,  and 
drums  beating,  they  have  left  the  lines  of  the 
French,  and,  when  these  tried  to  prevent  them, 
they  turned  their  bayonets  against  their  former 
comrades." 

Blucher's  eye  lit  up.  "Well,"  he  said,  "now 
they  will  no  longer  extol  Bonaparte's  extraordi- 
nary luck.  To-day  at  least  he  has  none.  The 
Saxons  have  felt  at  last  that  they  are  Germans, 
and  wish  to  purge  themselves  of  their  disgrace. 
I  say,  Gneisenau,  Bonaparte  must  retreat  to- 
morrow." And  what  Blucher  said  here  to  Gneise- 
nau was  what  Berthier  said  to  Napoleon :  "  The 
battle  is  lost !  We  must  retreat." 

Night  came.  It  is  true,  the  French  remaineJ 
on  the  field ;  they  did  not  flee,  but  they  had  no 
strength  to  continue  the  battle;  their  ammunition 
was  exhausted,  for  they  had  discharged  on  thia 
day  an  incredible  amount  of  cannon-shot.  Na- 
poleon felt  that  he  had  certainly  to  retreat,  and 


THE  NINETEENTH   OF   OCTOBER. 


submit  to  what  \vas  inevitable.  At  the  camp- 
fire,  near  the  turf-mill,  sat  the  emperor;  his  gen- 
erals surrounded  him,  and  listened  in  silence  to 
his  words,  falling  from  his  lips  slowly  and  sadly. 
lie  ordered  dispositions  to  be  made  for  a  retreat, 
and  Berthier  repeated  the  orders  to  his  two  adju- 
tants, who  were  kneeling  on  the  other  side  of 
the  camp-fire,  and  writing  them  down.  Suddenly, 
in  the  middle  of  a  sentence,  Napoleon  paused,  and 
his  head  dropped  on  his  breast  Thj  emperor  bad 
fallen  asleep ! 

His  generals,  respecting  this  respite  from  sor- 
row and  misfortune,  preserved  silence.  The  fire 
shed  a  blood-red  lustre  over  the  group ;  at  times 
the  flames  flickered  up  higher,  and  illuminated 
the  form  of  the  emperor,  who,  with  his  head  on 
his  breast,  his  arms  hanging  down  on  both  sides 
of  the  camp-stool,  his  body  gently  moving  to  and 
fro,  was  still  wrapped  in  slumber.  At  times,  when 
the  fire  blazed  up,  and  shed  a  flood  of  light  on 
the  plain,  shadows  were  seen  emerging  from  the 
gloom,  and  a  long  line  moved  past.  It  was  a 
portion  of  the  imperial  army  already  retreating 
toward  Leipsic. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  had  thus  elapsed  when 
Napoleon  gave  a  slight  start,  and,  raising  his 
head,  cast  a  long  look  of  astonishment  on  the  per- 
sons surrounding  him.  His  sleep  had  made  him 
for  an  instant  forget  his  troubles,  but  the  sombre 
glances  of  his  generals  and  the  noise  of  the  troops 
filing  by,  reminded  him  of  what  had  happened. 
Ilia  eye  resumed  its  calm  expression,  and,  in  a 
firm,  sonorous  voice  he  recommenced  giving  his 
orders.  Suddenly  a  whizzing  sound  was  in  the 
air  above  him — a  grenade  fell  to  the  ground  close 
to  the  emperor,  burrowed  into  the  earth,  and 
ttered  the  camp-tire. 

"  It  is  a  cold  night,"  said  the  emperor,  com- 
edy ;  "make  up  the  fire  again,  and  add  fresh 
fuel!" 

The  adjutants  ran  to  collect  the  firebrands,  and 
the  generals  themselves  hastened  to  pil 
fuel.  But  anot'ier  whizzing  sound  rent  the  air, 
and  another  grenade  fell  into  the  fire,  which  had 
just  blazed  up  again ;  it  almost  extinguished  the 
flames,  and  remained  in  the  midst  of  the  coals. 


to 

: 


Napoleon  gazed  musingly  on  the  ball,  and 
strange  thoughts  probably  filled  his  soul  at  the 
sight  of  this  messenger  at  his  feet.*  "It  is 
enough,1'  he  said  calmly ;  "  no  more  fire  may  be 
kindled!  My  horse!  ToLeipsic!  I  will  spend 
the  night  there."  The  horses  were  brought ;  at- 
tended  by  Berthier,  Caulaincourt,  and  a  few  or- 
derlies, the  emperor  rode  to  Leipsic,  and  took  up 
his  quarters  at  the  Hotel  de  Prusse. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  NINETEENTH  OP  OCTOBER. 

IT  was  eight  o'clock  on  the  following  morning. 
A  dense  fog  covered  Leipsic  as  with  an  impenetra- 
ble veil,  and  extended  far  over  the  landscape.  No 
one  could  see  as  yet,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
what  had  been  done  by  friend  or  foe.  At  times 
the  allies  heard  loud  explosions,  and  saw  flashes 
on  the  side  of  the  French  ;  then  all  was  dark  and 
silent  again.  Suddenly,  however,  a  bright  glare 
illuminated  the  night,  for  in  the  French  camp 
large  fires  blazed,  and,  like  a  flaming  serpent, 
stretched  out  far  into  the  plain. 

"  Ha  !"  said  Blucher;  "  Gneisenau,  I  was  right 
after  all :  Bonaparte  is  retreating.  Do  you  know 
the  meaning  of  those  fires  ?  The  French  have 
placed  their  caissons  on  both  sidjs  of  the  road, 
and  set  them  on  fire,  that  they  may  serve  as  bea- 
cons to  the  retreating  troops.  See !  they  reach 
up  to  the  city  of  Leipsic.  It  is  as  I  said ;  the 
French  intend  to  march  through  that  city,  and 
retreat  across  the  Saale.  Well,  I  think  General 
York  will  await  them  there,  and  Langeron  will 
finish  them.  But  come,  Gneisenau,  the  fog  is 
clearing.  Let  us  ride  to  yonder  knoll ;  we  shall 
be  al.le  to  see  better  there." 

V.'ith  the  nimbleness  of  a  lad  Blucher  mounted 
lii.s  horse,  and,  no  longer  restraining  his  impa- 
tienee,  he  galloped  off.  Gueisenau  rode  by  his 
side,  and  at  some  distance  behind  him  trotted  the 

*  Bcitzke,  vol.  ii.,  p.  615. 


218 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


pipe-master,  nith  the  iron  box  on  the  pommel  of 
his  saddle. 

They  reached  the  crest  of  the  knoll  and  stopped. 
The  fog  had  disappeared,  and  they  could  distinctly 
see  a  field  of  horror  and  desolation  as  far  as  their 
eyes  reached.  The  immense  plain  was  covered 
far  and  wide  with  piles  of  corpses ;  rivulets  of 
blood  intersected  the  down-trodden  soil;  frag- 
ments of  wagons,  cannon,  and  vast  heaps  of  horses, 
lay  in  wild  disorder,  and  all  around  the  horizon 
gleamed  the  dying  fires  of  upward  of  twenty 
villages. 

Blucher  cast  a  mournful  look  on  this  harrow- 
ing spectacle.  "  Gneisenau,"  he  said,  "it  is  al- 
most impossible  for  one  to  rejoice  over  this  vic- 
tory, for  it  costs  too  many  tears — too  much  blood. 
How  those  poor  brave  men  are  lying  there,  dead 
or  dying,  and  have  not  even  a  grave  at  which 
their  mothers  and  wives  may  weep !  May  the 
good  God  in  heaven  have  mercy  on  their  souls, 
and  comfort  those  who  are  weeping  for  them ! " 
He  took  off  his  cap,  and,  shading  his  face  with  it, 
uttered  a  short,  low  prayer  for  the  repose  of  the 
dead.  With  a  quick  jerk  he  then  put  on  his  cap 
again.  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  we  have  prayed,  and 
we  will  now  try  to  find  that  accursed  Bonaparte, 
who  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  this  carnage,  and — " 

At  this  moment  the  pipe-master  galloped  up  to 
his  general. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  want,  Christian  ?  " 

"  The  morning  pipe,"  said  Christian,  presenting 
the  short  pipe  to  his  master. 

Blucher  stretched  out  his  hand  for  it,  but  drew 
it  back  and  cast  a  glance  on  the  piles  of  dead 
which  covered  the  battle  field.  "  No,  pipe-mas- 
ter," he  said,  solennly,  "  it  would  be  unbecoming 
to  smoke  here.  We  should  show  our  respect  for 
the  dead ;  but  hold  the  pipe  in  readiness  for  me, 
aud  when  we  ride  back  I  will  take  it.  Now,  get 
out  of  my  way,  that  I  may  no  longer  see  the  pipe, 
else —  Begone,  Christian  !  " 

"  No,  I  shall  stay,"  said  the  pipe-master,  cool- 
ly; "I  have  promised  the  general's  wife  always 
to  stay  near  him,  and,  besides,  you  will  soon  need 
me,  for  you  will  not  stand  it  long  without  your 
pipe.  Call  me,  your  excellency,  when  you  want 


me."  He  moved  his  horse  a  few  stops  back, 
and  was  busily  occupied  in  keeping  the  general's!! 
pipe  lit. 

Blucher  and  Gneisenau  in  the  mean  time  were 
keenly  looking  to  the  side  of  the  French  camp ; 
but  not  a  vestige  of  it  was  to  be  seen.  There 
could  be  no  doubt  now  that  Napoleon  had  com- 
menced retreating ;  he  had  profited  by  the  night 
to  remove  the  remnants  of  his  army  toward 
Leipsic,  that  tjiey  might  still  be  able  to  cross  the 
Saale  without  hinderance.  Blucher  uttered  a  loud 
cry  of  joy.  "  He  is  retreating !  Gneisenau, 
I  right  now  ?  " 

"  Yes,  general,  you  are.  With  your  sagacity 
you  have  divined  Napoleon's  plans  better  than 
the  rest  of  us,  and,  thanks  to  your  wise  disposi- 
tions, he  will  find  Langeron  and  Sacken  at  the 
gates  of  Leipsic,  and  York  on  the  banks  of  the 
Saale." 

"  My  dear  sir,  he  will  find  us,  too,"  exclaimed 
Blucher,  in  great  glee.  "  We  are  not  through 
yet;  I  know  Napoleon  thoroughly.  You  think, 
perhaps,  that  he  has  merely  rested  at  Leipsic,  and 
will  evacuate  the  city  without  fighting  ?  No,  sir. 
then  you  do  not  know  much  about  him.  He  will 
not  yield  an  inch  unless  he  must.  By  a  battle  ir 
and  around  Leipsic,  he  intends  to  cover  the  re- 
treat of  his  army,  and  I  tell  you,  Gneisenau,  vrt 
shall  have  hard  work  yet.  Forward  ! " 

"  Yes,  forward !  "  cried  Gneisenau.  "  We  must 
dispatch  couriers  to  all  the  generals,  and  send 
them  the  glad  tidings." 

"  Now  comes  the  last  assault,"  shouted  Blu- 
cher. "  We  must  take  the  city  by  storm ;  and 
this  will  blow  Bonaparte  over  the  Rhine,  and 
back  to  France,  like  a  bundle  of  rags !  Forward  ! 
Pipe-master,  my  pipe !  We  will  attack  them  ! " 

At  ten  in  the  morning  the  cannon  commenced 
booming  again  around  Leipsic.  The  city  was  at- 
tacked on  all  sides  by  the  armies  of  the  allies.  In 
the  south  stood  the  commander-in-chief,  Prince 
Schwartzenberg,  with  the  Austrian  army ;  in  the 
east,  the  Russian  General  Benningsen  and  the 
crown  prince  of  Sweden ;  in  the  north,  Blucher, 
with  the  Prussians,  and  the  Russian  corps  under 
General  Sacken. 


TIIE  NINETEENTH   OF  OCTOBLR. 


219 


**  Charge ! "  shouted  Blucher  to  his  troops. 
*  General  Bulow  has  attacked  the  Halle  gate ;  we 
must  hasten  to  his  assistance,  for  the  French  are 
stubborn." 

At  this  moment  another  volley  of  grape-shot 
was  discharged  from  the  pieces  which  the  French 
had  placed  inside  the  city,  and  hurled  death  and 
destruction  into  the  ranks  of  the  assailants. 

"  We  must  reenforce  Bulow,"  cried  Blucher ! 
"  General  Sacken  must  advance  his  troops  !  We 
must  hurl  light  infantry  aga'nst  the  gate  !  Charge ! 
Forward ! "  And,  brandishing  his  sword,  Blucher 
galloped  to  the  side  of  General  Sacken,  who 
was  moving  with  the  Russians  toward  the  point 
of  attack. 

"  Forward  !  "  thundered  Blucher  to  the  troops. 
The  Russians  did  not  understand  him,  but  they 
saw  his  countenance  radiant  with  impatience  and 
warlike  ardor,  his  flashing  eyes,  and  uplifted  hand 
pointing  the  sword  at  the  gate,  and  they  under- 
stood his  meaning. 

"  Perod !  "  shouted  the  Russians,  exultingly. 
"Forward!  Perod!" 

The  grape-shot  of  the  enemy,  and  the  rattling 
fire  of  the  French  skirmishers  behind  the  walls, 
drowned  their  shouts.  But  when  the  artillery 
ceased  and  the  smoke  disappeared,  they  saw  again 
the  face  of  the  old  general  with  his  young  eyes, 
and  the  long  white  mustache.  He  halted  on  his 
horse  in  the  midst  of  the  shower  of  bullets  fired 
by  the  skirmishers,  and  uttered  again  and  again 
favorite  corainan  1. 

"  Marshal  Perod  f"  shouted  the  Russians.  "  He 
is  a  little  Suwarrow  !  Long  live  little  Suwarrow  ! 
Long  live  Marshal  Forward ! "  and,  amid  re- 
newed battle-cries  in  honor  of  Blucher,  and  with 
resistless  impetuosity,  the  Russians  assaulted  the 

While  these  soT.es  were  passing  outside  the  city, 
Xapoleon  remained  within.  He  had  sat  up  till 
daylight  with  Caul.iincourt  and  Borthier,  receiv- 
ing reports  and  issuing  orders ;  toward  morning 
he  had  slept  a  little,  and  now,  at  ten  o'clock,  he 
dictated  his  last  orders  to  the  two  general - 
flic  streets  were  heard  the  roar  of  artillery,  the 
crashing  of  falling  buildings,  the  wails,  shrieks, 


• 


and  shouts  of  the  terrified  inhabitants.  The 
field-pieces  rattled  past,  regiments  trotted  along, 
and  disappeared  around  the  corners,  constituting  a 
scene  of  indescribable  terror  and  destruction  ;  but 
here,  in  the  emperor's  room,  every  thing  pre- 
sented a  spectacle  of  peace  and  repose.  Oaulaiu- 
court  and  Berthier  sat  at  their  desks,  writing. 
The  emperor  was  slowly  walking  up  and  down. 
He  did  not  even  listen  to  the  noise  outside ;  he 
dictated  his  orders  in  a  calm,  firm  voice,  and  his 
face  was  as  immovable  as  usual. 

"  Marshal  Macdonald,"  said  the  emperor,  con- 
cluding his  instructions,  "  is  commissioned  to  de- 
fend the  city  and  the  suburbs ;  for  this  purpose 
he  will  have  his  own  corps,  and  those  of  Lauris- 
tou,  Poniatowsky,  and  Reynier.  He  will  hold 
the  city  until  the  corps  of  Marmont  and  Ney  have 
evacuated  it,  and  the  rear-guard  safely  withdrawn. 
As  soon  as  these  troops  have  crossed  the  Pleisse, 
the  bridge  will  be  blown  up."  He  nodded  to  his 
generals,  and,  striding  across  the  room,  opened 
the  door  of  the  antechamber.  "  To  horse,  gentle- 
men!" he  shouted  to  the  generals  assembled 
there.  "  We  must  start  for  Erfurt !  "  He  slowly 
descended  the  staircase  and  mounted  his  horse, 
the  generals  and  adjutants  following  him  in 
silence. 

But  the  emperor  did  not  turn  his  horse  toward 
the  side  where  the  troops  were  marching  along  in 
heavy  columns ;  he  rode  to  the  market-place,  and 
halted  in  front  of  a  large,  old-fashioned  house  in 
the  middle  of  the  square.  The  King  of  Saxony 
and  his  consort  lived  there.  "Wait!  "said  the 
emperor  to  his  suite,  alighting  from  his  horse, 
and  walking  past  the  saluting  sentinels  into  the 
house. 

In  the  small  sitting-room  up-stairs  were  old 
King  Frederick  Augustus,  his  consort,  and  the 
Princess  Augusta.  The  king  sat  with  his  hands 
folded  on  his  knees,  and  his  lustreless  eye  fixed 
on  the  windows,  trembling  incessantly  from  the 
roar  of  artillery  and  the  rattle  of  musketry.  The 
queen  was  near  him,  and  whenever  the  volleys 
resounded,  she  groaned,  and  covered  her  face 
with  her  handkerchief,  which  was  already  moist 
with  tears.  The  Princess  Augusta  knelt  in  a  cor- 


220 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


ner  of  the  room,  praying,  while  tears  were  rolling 
down  her  cheeks. 

"  Oh,"  murmured  the  queen  when  another  rat- 
tle of  musketry  rent  the  air,  "  why  does  not  a 
bullet  strike  my  heart ! " 

"Father  in  heaven,  and  all  saints,  have  mercy 
on  us  ! "  prayed  the  princess. 

"  Giant  victory  to  the  great  and  noble  Emperor 
Jsapoleon,  my  God  !  "  sighed .  the  king.  "  I  love 
him  as  a  father,  and  he  has  always  treated  me 
with  the  love  of  a  son.  I  have  remained  faithful 
to  him  when  all  the  others  betrayed  him.  Punish 
not  my  constancy,  therefore,  my  Lord  and  God  ; 
grant  victory  to  Napoleon,  that  happiness  may 
be  restored  to  me  ! " 

A  cry  burst  from  the  lips  of  the  queen,  and  she 
started  up  from  her  seat.  "  The  emperor ! "  she 
cried,  looking  toward  the  door. 

Yes,  in  the  open  door  that  form  in  the  gray, 
buttoned-up  overcoat,  with  the  small  hat,  and  pale, 
stony  face,  was  the  Emperor  Napoleon's.  "  I  come 
to  bid  you  farewell,"  he  said,  stepping  slowly  and 
calmly  to  the  king. 

"Farewell!"  groaned  Frederick  Augustus, 
sinking  back.  "All  is  lost,  then!" 

"  No,  not  all,  sire,"  said  Napoleon,  solemnly. 
"  We  have  lost  a  battle,  but  not  our  honor.  The 
fortune  of  battles  is  fickle.  After  twenty  years 
of  victory,  it  has  this  time  declared  against  me. 
But  honor  remains  to  me.  I  have,  for  four  days, 
held  out  agaiust  an  array  three  times  as  large  as 
mine  in  troops,  as  well  as  in  artillery,  and  they 
have  not  overpowered  me.  I  have  voluntarily 
evacuated  the  battle-field,  not  in  a  wild  flight  as 
did  the  Prussians  at  Jena,  and  the  Austrians  at 
Austerlitz.  Our  honor  is  intact.  With  that  we 
must  content  ourselves  this  time." 

"  Oh,  sire,"  cried  the  king,  with  tearful  eyes, 
"  how  generous  you  are !  You  speak  of  our 
honor !  But  /have  lost  my  honor,  for  my  troops 
have  committed  treason — they  deserted  my  noble, 
beloved  ally  during  the  battle !  Oh,  sire,  pardon 
me !  I  am  innocent  of  the  defection  of  my 
troops ! "  And,  rising,  the  king  made  a  move- 
ment as  if  to  kneel ;  but  Napoleon  held  him  in 
His  arms,  and  then  gently  pressed  him  back  into 


the  easy-chair.  "  Sire,"  he  said,  "  treason  ia  a 
disease  which,  by  this  time,  has  become  an  epi 
dernic  in  Germany.  All  those  who  are  now  fight- 
ing against  me  are  traitors,  for  all  of  them  were 
my  allies,  and,  while  still  negotiating  with  me, 
they  had  already  formed  a  league  against  me. 
Your  Saxons  were  infected  by  the  troops  from 
Bavaria,  Wurtemberg,  and  Baden." 

"Alas,"  sighed  the  king,  "I  had  a  better 
opinion  of  my  Saxons  !  They  have  turned  trai- 
tors, and  my  heart  will  always  remain  incon- 
solable." 

"  But  this  is  no  time  for  giving  way  to  grief," 
said  Napoleon.  "  Your  majesty  must  leave  Leip- 
sic  immediately.  You  must  not  expose  yourself 
to  the  dangers  of  a  capitulation,  which,  unfur 
tunately,  has  become  unavoidable.  Come,  sire, 
intrust  yourself  to  my  protection.  By  my  side, 
and  in  the  midst  of  my  troops,  you  will  be  safe." 

"  No,"  said  the  king,  resolutely ;  "  I  remain  ! 
Let  them  kill  me ;  I  am  tired  of  the  dangers  of 
flight !  But  you,  sire,  you  must  make  haste ! 
Leave  us ! — your  precious  life  must  not  be  en- 
dangered !  Every  minute  renders  the  peril  more 
imminent !  Hasten  to  preserve  yourself  to  your 
people,  your  consort,  and  your  son  ! " 

"  My  son ! "  said  Napoleon,  and  for  the  first 
time  something  like  an  expression  of  pain  flashed 
over  his  features.  "Poor  little  King  of  Rome, 
from  whose  blond  ringlets  his  own  grandfather 
wants  to  tear  the  crown ! "  He  dropped  his  head 
on  his  breast. 

"  Sire,  make  haste  !  "  implored  the  king. — 
"  Make  haste ! "  echoed  the  queen  and  the 
princess. 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  terrific  roar  of 
artillery.  The  queen  buried  her  face  in  her 
hands ;  the  princess  had  knelt  again  and  prayed ; 
the  king  leaned  his  head  against  the  back  of  the 
chair,  pale  as  a  corpse,  and  with  his  eyes  closed. 
Napoleon  alone  stood  erect;  his  face  was  calm 
and  inscrutable ;  his  glances  were  turned  toward 
the  windows,  and  he  seemed  to  listen  eagerly  to 
the  thunders  of  war. 

The  door  was  violently  opened,  and  Gener?! 
Caulaincourt  appeared,  pale 'and  breathless. 


THE  NINETEENTH   OF  OCTOBER. 


221 


"Sire,"  he  said,  "you  must  leave!  Bcrua- 
dotte  has  taken  one  of  the  suburbs  by  assault, 
ind  the  forces  of  Blucher,  Benningsen,  and 
Schwartzenberg,  are  pouring  in  on  all  sides  into 
the  city,  so  that  our  troops  are  compelled  to  de- 
fend themselves  from  house  to  house." 

"  Sire,  have  mercy ! — save  yourself! "  cried  the 
king.  "  I  can  no  longer  help  you,  no  longer  sup- 
port you!  I  have  nothing  left  to  give  you — 
nothing  but  my  life,  and  that  is  of  no  value! 
Save  yourself,  unless  you  want  me  to  die  at  your 
feet!" 

"  Sire,"  exclaimed  Caulaincourt,  "  every  min- 
ute increases  the  danger.  A  quarter  of  an  hour 
hence  your  majesty  may,  perhaps,  be  unable  to 
get  out  of  the  captured  city." 

Napoleon  turned  with  a  haughty  movement  tow- 
ard his  general.  ''  Nonsense,"  he  said,  "  have 
I  not  a  sword  at  my  side  ?  But,  as  you  wish  me 
to  go,  sire — as  you  are  alarmed,  I  will  leave ! 
farewell !  May  we  meet  in  happier  circum- 
stances ! " 

"  Sire,  up  there ! "  said  the  king,  solemnly, 
pointing  toward  heaven.  He  then  quickly  rose 
from  his  seat,  and  approaching  Napoleon,  who 
had  taken  leave  of  the  queen  and  the  princess, 
took  his  arm  and  conducted  him  hastily  out  of 
the  room,  through  the  corridor,  and  down  the 

irease.     At  the  foot   he  stood,  and   clasping 

e  emperor  in  his  arms,  whispered,  "Farewell, 
sire ;  I  feel  it  is  forever  1     I  shall  await  you  in 
•    another  word  now,  sire!     Make 
He  tunn-d,  and  slowly  reascended  the 

ircase.     The  emperor  mounted  his  horse,  and 
ted  his  course  toward  the  gate  of  Ranstadt. 

hind  him   rode  Berthier,  Caulaincourt,  and  a 
generals ;  a  mounted  escort  followed  them. 

The  streets  presented  a  spectacle  of  i!, 
and  horror,  which,  the  closer  they  approached  the 

IBBON  hurt-rending.      Field-pieces, 
on    foot   and   on   horseback, 
.    wounded    and    dying    cows, 
sheep,    and    swine,    entangled    in    an   enormous 
mass,  mad i-  it  impossible  to  pass  that  way.     Na- 
poleon  turned  his  horse,  and   took  the  road  to 
St.  Peter's  gate.     Slowly,  and  with  perfect  com- 


posure, he  rode  through  Cloister  and  Burg 
Streets.  Not  a  muscle  of  his  face  betraved  any 
uneasiness  or  embarrassment ;  it  was  grave  and 
inscrutable  as  usual. 

When  he  arrived  at  the  inner  St.  Peter's  gat-? 
he  found  the  crowd  and  confusion  to  be  nearly  as 
great  as  at  that  of  Ransladt;  he  did  not  turn  hi? 
horse,  but  said,  in  a  loud  voice,  "  Clear  a  pas- 
sage!" The  generals  and  the  mounted  escort 
immediately  rode  forward,  and,  unsheathing  their 
swords  and  spurring  their  horses,  galloped  into 
the  midst  of  the  crowd,  driving  back  those  who 
could  flee,  trampling  under  foot  those  who  did 
not  fall  back  quick  enough,  and  removing  the 
obstacles  which  obstructed  their  passage.  In 
five  minutes  a  way  was  cleared  for  the  emperor 
— the  wounded  lying  on  both  side.",  and  a  few 
corpses  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  showed  how 
violently  the  cortege  had  penetrated  the  obstruct- 
ing mass.  The  emperor  took  no  notice  of  this  ; 
he  was  silent  and  indifferent,  while  his  escort  at- 
tacked the  crowd,  and  rode  on  as  if  nothing  had 
occurred. 

At  length  the  city  lay  behind  him;  he  had 
passed  the  bridge  across  the  Elster,  and  reached 
the  mill  of  Lindenau,  where  he  intended  to  estab- 
lish his  headquarters.  Constant  and  Roustan  had 
already  reached  the  place  with  the  emperor's  car- 
riages, and  prepared  a  room  for  him.  Napoleon 
rapidly  stepped  into  it,  and,  greeting  Constant 
with  a  nod,  he  said,  "Only  a  little  patience!  In 
a  week  we  shall  be  in  Paris,  and  there  you  shall 
all  have  plenty  of  repose !  We  shall  leave  our 
beautiful  France  no  more!  Ah,  bow  the  Em- 
press will  rejoice,  and  how  charming  it  will  be  for 
me  again  to  embrace  the  little  King  of  Rome  1 " 

It  was  touching  and  mournful,  indeed,  to  hear 
this  man,  usually  so  cold  and  reserved,  thU 

ho  had  just  lost  a  great  battle,  speak  of  his 
return  home  and  his  child  in  so  gentle  and  affec- 
tionate a  tone,  and  to  see  how  his  rigid  feature* 
M  animated  under  the  charm  of  his  recol 
1  ctions,  and  how  the  faint  glimmer  of  a  mournful 
stole  upon  his  lips.      But  it  soon  disap- 
peared, and,  with  a  sigh,  the  emperor  drooped 
V:s  head. 


222 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


"  Your  majesty  ought  to  try  to  sleep  a  little," 
said  Constant,  in  an  imploring  voice. 

"  Yes,  sleep  ! "  exclaimed  Napoleon.  "  To  sleep 
is  to  forget !  " 

It  was  the  first,  the  only  complaint  which  he 
allowed  to  escape  his  lips,  and  he  seemed  to  re- 
gret it,  for,  while  he  threw  himself  on  the  field- 
bed,  he  cast  a  gloomy  glance  on  Constant,  and, 
as  if  to  prove  how  easy  it  was  for  him  to  forget, 
he  fell  asleep  in  a  few  minutes. 

From  the  neighboring  city  resounded  the  artil- 
lery, indicating  the  final  struggle  of  the  French 
and  th3  allies.  The  emperor's  slumber  was  not 
disturbed,  for  the  roar  of  battle  was  too  familiar 
to  him.  Suddenly,  however,  there  was  a  terrific 
explosion  that  shook  the  earth ;  the  windows  of 
the  room  were  shattered  to  pieces,  and  the  bed 
on  which  the  emperor  was  reposing  was  pushed 
from  the  wall  as  if  raised  by  invisible  arms.  He 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  glanced  wonderingly  around. 
"What  was  that?"  he  inquired.  "It  was  no 
discharge  of  artillery,  it  was  an  explosion  ! "  He 
quickly  left  the  mill  and  stepped  out  of  the  front 
door.  There  stood  the  generals,  and  looked  in 
evident  anxiety  toward  Leipsic.  Here  and  there 
bright  flames  were  bursting  from  the  roofs  of 
the  houses ;  one-half  of  the  city  was  wrapped  in 
clouds  of  smoke,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish any  thing. 

"An  explosion  has  taken  place  there,"  said 
Napoleon,  pointing  to  that  side. 

At  this  moment  several  horsemen  galloped 
rapidly  toward  the  mill ;  they  were  headed  by  the 
King  of  Naples  in  his  uniform,  decked  with  glit- 
tering orders.  A  few  paces  from  the  emperor  he 
stopped  his  horse  and  alighted. 

"  Murat,"  shouted  the  emperor  to  him,  "  what 
has  happened  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  he  said,  "  a  terrible  calamity  has  oc- 
curred. The  bridge  across  the  Elster,  the  only 
remaining  passage  over  the  river,  has  been  blown 
up!" 

"  And  our  troops  ?  "  cried  the  emperor. 

"  Sire,  the  rear-guard,  twenty  thousand  strong, 
are  still  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  unable  to  es- 
cape." 


The  emperor  uttered  a  cry,  half  of  pain,  ha,* 
of  anger.  "  Ah,"  he  exclaimed,  "  this,  then,  is 
the  way  in  which  my  orders  are  carried  out !  My 
God  !  twenty  thousand  brave  men  are  lost — hope- 
lessly lost ! "  He  struck  both  his  hands  against 
his  temples. 

No  one  dared  disturb  him ;  his  generals  sur- 
rounded him,  silent  and  gloomy.  Presently, 
some  horsemen  galloped  up  ;  at  their  head  was  a 
general,  hatless  and  in  a  dripping  uniform. 

"  Sire,  there  comes  Marshal  Macdonald,"  ex- 
claimed Murat. 

Napoleon  hastened  forward  to  meet  the  mar- 
shal, who  had  just  jumped  from  his  horse. 

"  You  come  out  of  the  water,  marshal  ?  "  in- 
quired Napoleon,  pointing  to  his  wet  uniform. 

"  Yes,  sire.  By  swimming  my  horse  across,  I 
have  escaped  to  this  side  of  the  river,  and  I  come 
to  inform  your  majesty  that  the  troops  intrusted 
to  me  have  perished  through  no  fault  of  mine. 
Sire,  they  were  twenty  thousand  strong,  and  I 
come  back  alone.  I  come  to  lay  my  life  at  the 
feet  of  your  majesty." 

"  God  be  praised  that  you  at  least  have  been 
preserved,"  said  the  emperor,  offering  his  hand  to 
Macdonald.  "  But  you  say  the  troops  have  per- 
ished ?  Is,  then,  that  impossible  for  the  soldiers 
which  was  possible  for  you  ?  Cannot  they  swim 
across  to  this  side  of  the  river  ?  " 

"  Sire,  my  escape  was  almost  miraculous.  I 
OMBC  it  to  my  horse,  who  carried  me  across  in  the 
agony  of  despair  ;  I  owe  it  to  God,  who,  perhaps, 
wished  to  preserve  a  faithful  and  devoted  servant 
to  your  majesty.  But,  by  my  side,  no  less  faith- 
ful servants  were  carried  away,  and,  standing 
on  the  other  bank,  I  saw  their  corpses  drifting 
along." 

"  "Who  were  they  ?  "  asked  Napoleon,  abruptly, 
and  almost  in  a  harsh  tone. 

"  Sire,  General  Dumoustier  was  one  ;  but  he  is 
not  the  victim  most  to  be  lamented  of  this  disas- 
trous day." 

"Who  is  it?"  exclaimed  the  emperor,  and, 
casting  around  a  hasty,  anxious  glance,  he 
seemed  to  count  his  attendants  to  see  who  was 
missing. 


THE  NINETEENTH  OF  OCTOBER. 


223 


"  Sire,"  said  Macdonald,  in  a  trembling  voice, 
'Prince  Joseph  Poniatowsky  plunged  with  his 
horse  into  the  river — " 

"  And  he  perished  ?  "  cried  Napoleon. 

sire,   he  did   not   reach   the   opposite 
bank  ! " 

The  emperor  buried  his  face  in  his  hands,  and 
groaned.  He  sat  for  some  time  motionless.  At 
length  he  removed  his  hands  from  his  face,  which 
looked  like  marble,  bloodless  and  cold. 

"  And  my  soldiers  ?  "  he  inquired.  "  Did  they 
endeavor  to  escape  as  Poniatowsky  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sire  !  Thousands  threw  themselves  into 
the  river,  but  only  a  few  succeeded  in  escaping, 
while  the  others  fell  into  the  deep  and  muddy 
channel ;  and  those  who  were  on  the  opposite 
bank  were  made  prisoners  by  the  allies,  who  are 
now  in  possession  of  the  city." 

"  Twenty  thousand  men  lost !  "  sighed  Napo- 
leon, and  he  relapsed  into  gloomy  thought.  Pres- 
ently he  raised  his  head  again  and  cast  a  flaming 
glance  on  Macdonald. 

c%  Marshal,"  he  said,  "  you  will  investigate  this 
*flair  in  the  most  rigorous  manner  ;  you  will  give 
me  the  name  of  him  who  has  dared  to  disobey 
my  orders.  He  is  the  murderer  of  twenty  thou- 
sand men  !  He  deserves  death,  and  I  shall  have 
no  mercy  on  him  !  " 

"  Sire,  he  stands  already  before  his  Supreme 
e!     It  was  the  corporal  charged  with  ap- 
ing the  match  as  soon  as  our  troops  had  all 
passed.     He  thought  he  saw  the  enemy  advan- 
cing upon  the  bridge,  and  fired  the  train,  throw- 
himsclf  into  the  Elster.     He  is  drowned  !  " 

-  good  for  him,"  said   Napoleon.     "  God 
will  deal  more  leniently  with  him  than  I   - 
have  done.     To   horse,  gentlemen,  to   h» 
He  walked   slowly  and  with  bowed   head   to  his 
horse,  an  1    murmured,  "  Another   Beresina  !     It 
-  me  twenty  thousand  soldiers  !  " 

The  generals  followed  him,  and  as  t  : 
him  walking  with  bowed  head,  they  whispered  to 
one  another,  "  Look  at  him  now,  how  he  is  bro- 
ken down  !  That  v  appearance  when 
he  returned  from  Russia  !  He  has  no  strength 
to  bear  up  under  misfortunes  !  " 


While  the  emperor  and  his  suite  slowly  and 
mournfully  took  the  road  to  Mark  Ranstadt,  the 
allies  made  their  entrance  into  Leipsic.  At  the 
head  of  the  procession  rode  the  Emperor  of  IN-- 
sia  and  the  King  of  Prussia ;  behind  them  fol- 
lowed their  brilliant  staff,  and  then  came  the  vie- 
torious  troops,  with  colors  flying  and  drums  beat- 
ing. The  cannon  still  thundered,  but  louder  were 
the  cheers  and  exultant  acclamations  of  the  peo- 
ple, who  crowded  the  streets  by  thousands,  to 
receive  the  sovereigns  and  the  victorious  array. 
The  windows  of  the  houses  were  opened,  and  at 
them  stood  their  inmates  with  joyful  faces,  hold- 
ing white  handkerchiefs  in  their  hands,  with 
which  they  waved  their  greetings.  The  friends — 
the  long-yearned-for  friends  were  there,  and  they 
received  them  with  tears,  exultation,  and  thanks- 
giving. Merry  chimes  rang  from  every  steeple, 
and  proclaimed  the  resurrection  of  Germany. 
The  sovereigns  rode  to  the  great  square;  they 
halted  in  front  of  the  very  house  of  the  King  of 
Saxony,  but  they  turned  no  glance  upward  to 
the  windows,  behind  the  closed  blinds  of  which 
the  unfortunate  royal  family  were  assembled. 
The  victors  seemed  to  have  forgotten  them. 

The  two  monarchs  alighted,  for  now  came  from 
the  other  side  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden,  Ber- 
nadotte,  at  the  head  of  his  guards,  and  through 
the  other  street  approached  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  allies,  Prince  Schwartzenberg.  The 
Russian  emperor  and  the  Prussian  king  advanced 
into  the  middle  of  the  square,  and  Bernadotte  and 
irtzenberg  arrived  there  simultaneously  with 
them.  Suddenly,  deafening  cheers  rent  the  air; 
they  drew  nearer,  and  amid  these  acclamations 
Blucher,  at  the  head  of  his  staff,  rode  up.  When 
he  perceived  the  monarchs,  he  stopped  his  horse 
and  vaulted  with  youthful  agility  from  the  sad- 
dle in  order  to  meet  them ;  but  the  Emperor  Al- 
exander, anticipating  him,  was  by  his  side.  "  God 
bless  you,  heroic  Blucher ! "  he  exclaimed,  affec- 
tionat.lv  embracing  him.  "You  have  fulfilled 
your  promise  made  at  Breslau.  You  have  be 
come  the  liberator  of  Germany.  Your  brave 
sword  and  your  intrepid  heart  have  conquered 
Come,  I  must  conduct  you  to  the  King  of  Prua 


224 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


sia ! "  He  took  Blucher's  arm,  and,  advancing 
with  him,  he  said,  '  Sire,  I  bring  you  here  your 
hero,  Blucher ! " 

"You  bring  me  Field-Marshal  Blucher!"  said 
the  king.  "  God  bless  you,  field-marshal ! " 

"  Sire,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  "  you  apply  to  me 
an  honorary  title — " 

"Which  you  deserve,"  interrupted  the  king. 
"Do  not  thank  me,  for,  if  you  do,  for  conferring 
a  title  on  you,  how  shall  I  thank  you,  who  have 
given  me  by  far  greater  honor  ?  I  know  what  I 
owe  you,  Blucher;  your  energy,  courage,  deter- 
mination, and  ardor,  have  gained  us  the  most 
glorious  victories  !  " 

"  I  have  only  done  my  duty,  your  majesty," 
said  Blucher.  "But  I  think  our  work  is  not 
half  done  yet,  your  majesty ;  we  are  to-day  in  fact 
only  at  the  commencement  of  it.  It  is  not  enough 
for  us  to  drive  the  French  from  Leipsic ;  we  must 
pursue  them,  and  expel  them  from  Germany. 
For  this  purpose  we  must  make  haste.  We  have 
no  time  to  rest  on  our  laurels  and  sing  hymns — 
the  main  point  is  to  pursue  the  enemy — pursue 
him  incessantly  and  effectually." 

"Again,  the  hot-headed  madcap,  whose  fiery 
spirit  believes  that  every  thing  is  done  too  slow- 
ly," exclaimed  the  Emperor  Alexander,  smiling. 
"  Now  I  ask  you,  as  the  king  asked  you  at  Bres- 
lau,  '  How  old  are  you  ? ' — you  who  never  need 
rest,  like  other  poor  mortals — myself,  for  in- 
stance ?  I  confess  that,  after  all  this  excitement 
and  these  long  fatigues,  I  am  longing  for  repose, 
and  would  not  take  it  amiss  if  war  and  pursuit 
were  no  longer  thought  of.  But  you  are  always 
intent  on  going  forward !  " 

"Sire,"  exclaimed  the  king,  who  in  the- mean 
time  had  conversed  with  General  Sacken,  "  I  just 
learn  that  your  troops  have  anticipated  me,  and 
given  Blucher  a  title  that  is  far  better  than  mine. 
At  the  gate  of  Halle  they  cheered,  and  called  him 
'  Marshal  Forward  ! ' " 

"  Ah,  I  should  like  to  embrace  my  soldiers  for 
this  excellent  word,"  cried  Alexander.  "  That  is 
an  honorary  title,  Blucher,  which  no  prince  can 
confer,  and  which  only  your  own  merit  and  the 
gratitude  of  the  people  can  bestow.  Yes,  you 


are  '  Marshal  Forward,'  and  by  that  name  history 
will  know  you;  and  Germany  will  lore,  praise, 
and  bless  you.  You  have  earned  this  title  by 
your  deeds,  and  the  soldiers  have  conferred  it 
upon  you  as  a  token  of  their  appreciation.  Now, 
the  soldiers  are  a  part  of  the  people,  and  the 
voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice  of  God.  Heaven 
bless  you,  '  Marshal  Forward  ! ' " 

At  this  moment  a  procession  was  approaching 
from  the  other  side  of  the  square,  consisting  of 
twenty-four  young  maidens  dressed  in  white.  All 
held  wreaths  in  their  hands,  while  the  three  who 
headed  the  procession  carried  them  on  silken 
cushions.  They  approached  the  emperor,  the 
king,  and  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden,  and  of' 
fered  them  the  wreaths.*  The  emperor  took  that 
presented  to  him,  and  pressed  it  with  a  quick  and 
graceful  movement  on  Blucher's  head.  "  I  rep- 
resent the  Muse  of  History,"  he  said,  "  and  crown 
'  Marshal  Forward  '  in  a  becoming  manner." 

"And  I,"  said  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden, 
handing  %is  laurel-wreath  to  Prince  Schwartzen- 
berg,  "  I  present  this  to  the  commander-in-chief 
of  all  our  armies,  and  wish  him  joy  of  having 
achieved  a  victory  over  which  so  many  nation* 
will  rejoice,  and  which  will  render  his  name  illus- 
trious now  and  forever." 

"Ah,"  cried  Schwartzenberg,  "I  have  unfor- 
tunately been  unable  to  do  much.  I  have  only 
faithfully  carried  out  my  orders,  and  it  is  to  them, 
and  to  the  brave  troops,  that  we  are  indebted  foi 
the  victory."  f 

The  king  said  nothing ;  holding  his  wreath,  he 
looked  at  it  gravely  and  musingly.  The  presen- 
tations were  over,  and  the  princes  prepared  to  re- 
turn to  their  quarters. 

"  I  hope,  sire,  we  shall  all  remain  together  to- 
day ?  "  remarked  Alexander,  turning  toward  the 
king. 

"  Pray  excuse  me,  sire,"  said  Frederick  William 
bowing,  "  I  intend  to  go  to  Berlin  to-night,  but .' 
shall  be  back  in  a  few  days." 


*  The  emperor  of  Austria  did  not  make  liis  entry  with 
the  other  monarch?,  but  came  only  in  the  afternoon  tn 
Leipsic,  where  he  remainvd  scarcely  an  hour.  He  then 
returned  to  Efjtha. — Beitze,  vol  ii. 

t  Prince  Schwartzenberg's  words.— Beitzke,  ii.,  689. 


TUB  NINETEENTH  OF  OCTOBER. 


225 


w  But  you,  I  suppose,  will  remain  ? "  asked 
Alexander,  turning  toward  Bernadotte. 

"  I  shall  remain,  your  majesty,"  said  the  crown 
prince  of  Sweden,  with  a  polite  smile.  "  My  troops 
are  in  need  of  rest." 

-,  his  troops  are  always  in  need  of  rest," 
murmured  Blucher  to  himrelf ;  "I  believe — " 

Just  then  the  Emperor  Alexander  turned  tow- 
ard him.  "Well,  field-marshal,  and  you — you 
will  stay,  too,  will  you  not?  I  pray  you  to  be  my 
guest  to-day." 

"  Sire,  I  regret  that  I  cannot  accept  this  gra- 
cious invitation,"  said  Blucher.  "  I  cannot  stay,  and 
my  troops,  thank  GoJ  !  are  not  in  need  of  rest. 
I  shall  start  immediately  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 
It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  have  gained  a  victory ; 
we  must  also  know  how  to  profit  by  it.  I  shall 
march  this  very  evening,  and  take  up  my  quarters 
for  the  night  at  Skeuditz." 

"  Marshal  Forward  !  always  Marshal  Forward !" 
exclaimed  Alexander,  smiling. — "  Come,  sire,  let 
us  hasten  to  dinner;  otherwise  he  will  not  even 
permit  us  to  dine,  but  compel  us  all  to  set  out 
immediately."  He  took  the  king's  arm,  and 
went  with  him  to  the  horses  standing  near. 
When  he  was  about  to  vault  into  the  saddle,  he 
timed  toward  one  of  his  adjutants.  "  Ah,"  he 
said,  "  there  is  another  little  matter  which  I  al- 
most forgot !— General  Petrowitch,  go  up  there." 
Me  pointed  to  the  house  of  the  King  of  Saxony. 
"  Inform  the  king,  in  my  name,  that  he  is  a  pris- 
oner.* Have  a  guard  of  thirty  men  placed  in 
front  of  the  house." 

On  the  same  evening  Blucher  rode,  by  the  side 

of  Gneisenau  and  attended  by  his  stuff,  out  of  the 

gate  of  Leipsic,  following  his  troops  already  on  the 

1  to  Skeuditz.     "  Well,"  said  Blucher,  smok- 

*his  pipe,  "  we  cannot  deny  that  there  has  been 
abundant  shower  of  orders  and  titles  to-day, 
<»nd  that  we  have  all  been  thoroughly  drenched. 
I   am  a  field-marshal  now ;  the  Emperor  of 
•tia  has  conferred  on  me  the  order  of  Maria 
Theresa ;  and  the  Emperor  of  Russia  has  given 
Die  a  splendid  sword,  which  I  will  ?end  as  a  sou- 


*  Beitzkf,  vol.  11.,  p.  652. 
15 


venir  to  my  Amelia.  And  you,  Gneisenau,  I  hope 
you  have  also  received  your  share  ?  " 

"Why,  yes,"  said  Gneisenau,  "1  have  received 
titles  from  all  the  three  monirchs.  You  are 
i  ::;!it,  there  was  all  day  a  perfect  shower  of  them 
— orders  and  honors ;  and  not  a  general,  not  a 
dignitary  or  diplomatist  has  been  forgotten.  Count 
Metternich,  you  know,  has  been  raised  by  his 
sovereign  to  the  rank  of  a  prince,  in  acknowl- 
edgment of  his  diplomatic  services ;  and  Prince 
Seh \\artzeiiberg,  already  enjoying  the  highest  Aus- 
trian honors,  has  received  permission  to  add  the 
escutcheon  of  the  Hapsburgs  to  his  coat-of-arms." 

"  These  two  have  been  in  the  shower  of  honors, 
but  very  little  in  the  shower  of  balls,"  remarked 
Bluchcr,  laconically.  "I  wonder  what  rewards 
will  be  conferred  on  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden  ?  " 

"  He  has  already  received  the  highest  Prussian, 
Austrian,  and  Russian  orders,"  replied  Gneisenau, 
scornfully.  "  As  I  stated  before,  no  one  has  been 
forgotten  but  one  !  " 

"  Who  is  it  ?  "  asked  Blucher.  "  Who  has  been 
forgotten  ?  " 

"Field-marshal,  one  deserving  the  most  honor 
— one  that  joyfully  sacrificed  property,  blood, 
and  life,  who  did  not  demand  any  reward,  and 
did  every  thing  for  the  sake  of  honor,  and  from 
love  of  country,  and  for  the  princes." 

"  What !  "  cried  Blucher,  angrily.  "  The  mon- 
archs  have  forgotten  to  reward  such  a  one  ?  " 

"  Yes,  field-marshal,  they  have !  This  one  is 
the  people,  the  German  people! — the  noble,  en- 
thusiastic people,  who  joyously  and  generously 
shed  their  blood  for  the  deliverance  of  the  father- 
land, whose  mothers  and  wives  allowed  their  sons 
and  husbands  exultingly  to  march  into  the  field, 
and  made  themselves  sisters  of  charity  for  the 
wounded  and  sick ;  whose  men  and  youths  did 
not  hesitate  to  leave  their  houses,  their  families, 
their  property,  their  business,  but  readily  took  up 
arms  to  deliver  the  fatherland ;  whose  aged  men 
ue  young,  whose  children  transformed  them- 
-  into  youths,  to  participate  in  the  holy 
struggle — all  these,  the  great,  noble  German  peo- 
ple, have  received  no  reward,  and  not  even  a 
promise  I " 


226 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


"  But,  Gneisenau,  how  strange  you  are ! "  said 
Blucher,  drawing  his  mustache  through  his  fingers. 
"  The  monarchs  have  rewarded  those  whom  they 
were  able  to  reward.  How  can  they  reward  the 
people  ?  What  could  they  do  ?  " 

"  They  could  bestow  on  them  more  liberty, 
more  independence  and  honor,"  said  Gneisenau, 
"  by  giving  them  the  constitution  which  the  King 
of  Prussia  promised  to  his  people  in  his  manifesto 
of  the  17th  of  March." 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  said  Blucher,  thoughtfully. 
"  Well,  Stein  is  present,  and  he  will  surely  remind 
the  king  of  what  he  ought  to  do.  He  is  a  patriot 
and  a  true  man  ! " 

"  Yes,  but  he  is  alone,"  said  Gneisenau,  mourn- 
fully. "  His  voice  will  die  away  like  that  of  the 
preacher  in  the  desert.  You  will  see,  field-mar- 
shal, these  promises  will  soon  be  forgotten  ! " 

"  Well,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  "  we  shall  see. 
For  the  time  being  let  us  rejoice  that  we  have 
fought  the  great  battle  of  the  nations,  and  that 
Napoleon's  doom  is  sealed  now.  It  is  all-impor- 
tant for  us  to  finish  him  quickly  and  without  mer- 
cy. You  know  my  battle-cry :  '  He  must  be  de- 
throned ! ' — Oh,  pipe-master  !  Another  pipe,  this 
one  does  not  burn." 

As  Napoleon  and  Blucher  left  Leipsic  on  the 
19th  of  October,  King  Frederick  William  set  out 
from  the  city  for  Berlin  to  rejoice  with  his  people, 
and  to  thank  God  for  the  victory.  All  Berlin  re- 
ceived the  king  with  exultation,  and  the  20th  of 
October  was  a  day  of  universal  joy.  Germany 
was  free,  and  this  conviction  transported  every 
heart,  and  every  one  wished  to  greet  the  king. 
Thousands  surrounded  the  royal  palace  at  Berlin 
all  day,  and  whenever  the  king  appeared  at  the 
windows  or  on  the  balcony,  they  saluted  him  with 
cheers  and  waving  of  hats  and  handkerchiefs. 
Multitudes  thronged  toward  the  cathedral,  to 
thank  God  for  the  glorious  victory  vouchsafed  to 
them.  In  every  house  were  festivities  in  honor 
jf  the  great  battle  of  the  nations  fought  at 
Leipsic. 

But  during  this  universal  exultation  the  king 
left  Berlin,  without  his  suite,  attended  only  by 
his  old  friend,  General  Kockeritz,  and  rode  to 


Charlottenburg.  No  notice  was  taken  of  the  urt 
pretending  equipage,  drawn  by  two  horses,  desti- 
tute of  escutcheons  and  liveries,  which  drove  out 
of  the  Brandenburg  gate,  and  the  king  reached 
Charlottenburg  without  being  recognized.  He 
did  not,  however,  enter  the  palace,  but  ordered 
Kockeritz  to  fetch  the  castellan,  that  he  might 
open  the  vault  of  the  royal  tomb  ;  then,  wrapping 
his  cloak  closer  about  him,  under  which  he  seemed 
to  conceal  something,  he  trod  the  dark  path  lead- 
ing to  the  mausoleum.  He  paced  the  gloomy 
avenue  of  cypress  and  pines  with  a  slow  step,  ab- 
sorbed in  deep  reflection.  Holy  peace  surrounded 
him — not  a  sound  of  the  people's  joy  reached  him 
— naught  disturbed  the  silence,  save  some  gentle 
breeze  that  rustled  the  foliage,  and  as  a  spirit- 
voice  greeted  the  king's  return.  The  recollec- 
tions of  other  days,  with  all  their  troubles,  came 
to  him,  and  revived  the  painful  emotions  of  the 
past.  He  had  suffered  so  much,  and  alone !  And 
as  he  had  been  alone  in  his  affliction,  he  was  now 
alone  in  his  prosperity.  No  one  was  with  him  it 
this  holy  hour  to  understand  his  heart,  except  h3r 
whose  spirit  he  believed  to  be  always  near  him. 
Grief  for  the  humiliation  of  her  country  occa- 
sioned her  death  ;  joy  and  pride  in  the  victory  of 
her  country  would,  if  possible,  have  reawakened 
her  from  the  dead. 

The  king  slowly  walked  toward  the  mauso- 
leum. The  door  was  open,  and  he  entered  softly. 
He  looked  around  to  assure  himself  that  he  was 
alone,  and  that  no  strange  eyes  desecrated  this 
devout  pilgrimage.  He  took  off  his  cloak,  and 
that  which  he  had  borne  under  it  was  no  longer 
hidden.  It  was  the  laurel-wreath  presented  on 
the  preceding  day  at  Leipsic.  With  this  crown 
of  victory  in  his  hand  he  approached  the  black 
sarcophagus  in  which  reposed  all  that  was  mor- 
tal of  Louisa  !  Bending  over  it,  he  kissed  the 
place  beneath  which  her  head  rested,  and  laid 
down  the  wreath.*  "  Take  it,  Louisa,"  he  mur- 
mured. "It  belongs  to  you!  Your  spirit  was 
with  us,  and  led  us  to  victory.  Oh,  why  did  you 


*  Eylert,  "  Characterzuge  aus  dem    Leben  Friedrich 
Wllhelm  III.,"  vol,  ii.,  p.  162. 


THE  NINETEENTH  OF  OCTOBER. 


227 


leave  me?  Why  are  you  not  with  me  in  the 
days  of  prosperity  as  in  the  days  of  adversity  ? 
I  have  seen  your  beautiful  eyes  shed  many  tears, 
l»uf  now  I  cannot  see  them  brighten  with  joy.  I 
can  hear  no  more  your  sweet  voice,  your  merry 
laughter !  I  am  alone  ! "  He  leaned  his  hands 
on  the  sarcophagus,  and,  pressing  his  head  on 
the  laurel-wreath,  shed  abundant  tears.  After  a 


long  pause,  he  rose  and  suppressed  his  grief. 
"  Farewell,  my  Louisa,"  he  said.  "  I  know  that 
you  are  with  me,  and  that  your  love  accompanies 
me !  Farewell ! "  Casting  a  parting  glance  on 
his  wife's  tomb,  the  king  left  the  sacred  cell, 
and  walked  slowly  toward  the  palace  through 
the  shadowy  and  silent  avenue  of  the  cyprea*- 
trees. 


HANNIBAL     ANTE     PORTAS. 


CHAPTER  XL. 
BLUCHER'S    BIRTHDAY. 

Two  months  had  elapsed  since  the  great  battle 
of  Leipsic,  during  which,  to  Blucher's  unbounded 
despair,  much  had  been  spoken,  much  negotiated, 
many  schemes  devised,  but  nothing  done.  Owing 
to  the  slowness  of  the  allies,  Napoleon  had  suc- 
ceeded, aside  from  some  unfortunate  engagements 
during  the  retreat,  in  safely  returning  with  the 
remnant  of  his  army  to  France ;  and  this  dilatory 
system  of  the  allies  seemed  to  be  constantly 
adopted.  The  armies  advanced  slowly,  or  not  at 
all.  For  weeks  the  headquarters  had  been  at 
Frankfort-on-the-Main.  There  were  the  Emperor 
of  Russia,  the  King  of  Prussia,  the  crown  prince 
of  Sweden,  and  Prince  Schwartzenberg,  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  besides  Met- 
ternich  and  Hardenberg,  and  the  whole  army  of 
diplomatists,  who  deemed  it  incumbent  on  them 
to  put  an  end  with  their  pens  to  this  war  which 
the  swords  of  the  generals  had  concluded  by  a 
victory.  The  peace  party  were  incessantly  intent 
on  gaining  the  allies  at  headquarters  over  to  their 
side,  and  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden  and  Prince 
Metternich  stood  at  their  head.  Bernadotte  cau- 
tioned the  allies  against  the  dangers  in  which  an 
invasion  of  France  would  involve  them ;  Metter- 
nich deemed  it  more  advisable  for  them  to  con- 
clude an  advantageous  peace  with  the  angry  lion 
Napoleon.  Blucher  kept  murmuringly  away  from 
the  headquarters,  and  stayed  with  bis  staff  at 
Hochst,  near  his  troops. 


It  was  the  16th  of  December.  The  field-mar 
shal  was  alone  in  his  room,  and  sat  on  the  sofa, 
in  his  comfortable  military  cloak,  smoking  his 
morning  pipe.  Before  him  lay  a  map  of  Ger- 
many, on  which  he  fixed  his  eyes,  and  across 
which  he  eagerly  moved  his  fingers  from  time  to 
time,  drawing  lines  here  and  there,  and  appar- 
ently conceiving  plans  of  operation.  The  door 
opened,  and  Pipe-Master  Hennemann  walked  in 
— In  full  gala-uniform,  holding  both  hands  be 
hind  him,  he  stood  at  the  door,  hoping  that  hi? 
field-marshal  would  see  and  ask  him  what  he 
wanted.  But  Blucher  did  not  look  up ;  he  wa^ 
absorbed  in  studying  his  map.  Christian  Hen- 
nemann, therefore,  ventured  to  interrupt  him. 
"Field-marshal,"  he  said,  in  a  low  and  timid 
voice,  "I—" 

"  Well,  what  do  you  want,  Christian  ?  "  asked 
Blucher,  lifting  his  eyes  from  the  map.  "  What 
is  the  matter?  Why  do  you  wear  your  gala- 
uniform,  and  look  as  if  you  were  about  to  go  on 
parade?  Have  you  become  a  Catholic  in  this 
Catholic  country,  Christian,  and  are  you  celebrat 
ing  a  saint's  holiday  ?  " 

;<  Yes,  field-marshal,"  said  Christian,  resolutely 
stepping  forward,  "  I  am  celebrating  the  holiday 
of  my  saint,  and  his  name  is  Blucher ! " 

"  He  is  a  queer  paint,"  cried  Blucher,  laughing. 
"  But  what  does  it  all  mean,  Christian  ?  " 

"It  means,  field-marshal,  that  this  is  your 
birthday,  and  that  you  are  seventy-one  years  old 
to-day." 

'  That  is  true,"  said  Blucher  to  himself.    "  Mj 


BLUUIIER'S  BIRTHDAY. 


229 


__i 


•'•. 


I 


birthday !  I  had  given  strict  orders  not  to  cele- 
brate it,  and  I  hud  forgotten  it  myself! " 

"  But  no  one  can  prevent  me  from  celebrating 
it,  your  excellency !  "  exclaimed  Christian.  "  That 
would  be  very  pretty,  if  1  could  not  congratulate 
my  'Marshal  Forward'  on  his  birthday.  Long 
live  my  field-marshal !  And  may  God  spare  him 
many  years  to  us  yet,  that  we  may  catch  Bona- 
parte at  Pans ;  for,  if  '  Marshal  Forward '  does 
not  do  it,  no  one  will !  " 

"  Yes,  if  they  would  oo'y  let  me ! "  cried  Blu- 
cher,  striking  with  his  hand  on  the  table;  "but 
they  will  not !  I  am  sitting  here  like  a  pug-dog 
.n  a  deal  box,  and  Bonaparte  stands  outside ;  I 
can  only  bark — I  cannot  bite  him,  for  they  will 
Dot  let  me  out." 

"  They  will  have  to,  your  excellency,"  said  Hen- 
nemann,  quickly,  "and  before  many  pipes  are 
smoked.  But  I  would  request  your  excellency  to 
be  so  kind  as  to  smoke  this  pipe."  He  drew 
forth  his  right  hand,  which  he  had  held  behind 
lim,  and  produced  a  short  pipe,  neatly  adorned 
with  a  rose-colored  ribbon  terminating  in  a  rosette 
with  two  long  ends.  "Field-marshal,"  he  said, 
"  in  return  for  all  the  favors  you  have  conferred 
on  me,  a  poor  boy,  and  for  having  made  me,  a 
stupid  peasant-lad,  pipe-master  of  the  famous 
Field-Marshal  Blucher,  I  take  the  liberty  of  pre- 
senting you  with  this  short  pipe."  And  making 
a  polite  obeisance,  he  handed  it  to  the  general, 
\vho  took  it  smilingly,  and  was  about  to  reply, 

t  Christian  added,  in  a  louder  voice,  "  But  your 
excellency  must  not  think  that  this  is  a  com- 
mon pipe.  In  tlio  first  place,  it  is  not  made  of 

"  said  Blucher,  contemplating  it;  "the 
small  tube  is  made  of  wood,  and  mounted  with 
silver,  sure  enough;  the  bowl  is  carved  out  of 
wood,  too,  and  there  is  another  bowl  inside." 

"  But  it  is  no  common  wood,  your  excellency," 
said  Christian,  solemnly.  "You  remember  that 
I  requested  a  furlough  immodiaU-ly  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Lei;  i  I  \vould  go  home,  s< 
dear  Me.klenlmrg  apiin,  and  visit  my  brothers 
and  sisters.  Well,  that  was  not  my  principal 

iject ;  there  was  another  reason  why  I  wanted 


to  go.  I  have  never  forgotten  what  my  General 
Blucher  said  when  I  first  came  to  him,  and  what 
he  told  us  of  his  mutting — that  he  still  loved  her. 
Well,  I  thought  it  would  gladden  the  field-mar- 
shal's heart  to  have  a  little  souvenir  of  his  mother. 
And,  therefore,  I  wended  my  way  to  Rastow, 
where  my  dear  field-marshal's  mother  is  buried. 
I  went  to  her  grave,  said  my  prayers,  and  then 
cut  off  a  branch  from  the  linden  which  stands 
on  her  grave.  Like  every  other  son  of  Mecklen- 
burg, you  ought  to  have  a  souvenir  of  your  mut- 
ting. Here  it  is.  T.ie  tube  and  the  bowl  of  the 
pipe  I  carved  out  of  the  branch  cut  from  the 
linden,  and,  that  you  might  know  what  it  is,  I 
cut  these  letters  in  the  wood.  Read,  sir." 

"  Sure  enough,  there  are  letters  on  it,"  cried 
Blucher.  "  They  say,  '  Souvenir  of  MuMing  I '  " 

"  Yes,  that  it  is,"  said  Christian ;  "  you  know, 
with  us,  those  who  love  their  mother  call  her  as 
you  did,  and  therefore  I  offer  you  this  souvenir." 

"  Christian,"  said  Blucher,  in  a  tremulous  voice, 
"  that  was  well  done,  and  I  can  tell  you  that  you 
give  me  great  joy,  and  that  I  shah1  not  forget  your 
kindness.  This  shall  be  my  gala-pipe,  and  I  will 
smoke  it  on  gala-days  only,  that  is  to  say,  when 
we  go  into  battle.  I  thank  you  a  thousand  times, 
Christian,  my  boy,  and  if  my  dear  mutting  has  not 
forgotten  me,  she  will  look  down  upon  her  boy  to- 
day, who  is  seventy-one  years  old,  and  it  will  glad- 
den her  to  know  that  he  has  now  a  memorial  of 
her — und  from  her  grave!  You  were  on  her 
grave,  then,  Christian  ?  How  does  it  look  ?  " 

"  It  was  decked  with  flowers,  your  excellency, 
and  finches  and  larks  were  chirping  in  the  large 
linden  overshadowing  it.  The  old  grave-digger  told 
me  the  linden  had  been  planted  on  the  day  when 
Madame  von  Blncher  was  buried,  and  it  was  quite 
11  t\vi_r  at  that  time." 

"  Yes,  that  is  the  course  of  things,"  said  Blucher, 
mournfully ;  "  when  I  saw  my  mother  last,  shs 
i  handsome  lady,  and  I  was  a  boy  of  sixteen. 
I  have  not  felt,  that  so  many  years  have  e!  • 
>ince  then,  and  I  feel  myself  still  as  active  as  a 
lad.  But  they  tell  me  I  am  decrepit,  and  that 
there  is  hut  a  step  between  me  and  the  grave." 

"  Well,  I  should  like  to  see  the  giant  who  coulo 


230 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


cross  that  step,"  cried  Christian ;  "  a  hundred 
thousand  French  corpses  and  Bonaparte's  over- 
turned throne  lie  in  that  step  between  you  and 
the  grave." 

Blucher  laughed.  "  You  are  a  good  boy,  pipe- 
master,  and  in  honor  of  you  I  will  smoke  the  new 
pipe  to-day.  Fill  and  light  it ;  I  will — who  knocks 
there  ? — Open  the  door,  Christian." 

"  It  is  I,  your  excellency,"  said  General  Gneise- 
nau,  who  entered  the  room.  "  You  must  not  re- 
fuse to  see  me.  It  is  true,  you  have  forbidden 
any  celebration,  serenade,  or  congratulation ;  but 
you  must  not  turn  me  from  your  door ;  for  you 
know  that  I  love  you  like  a  son,  and  therefore 
you  must  permit  me  to  come  and  wish  myself 
joy  that  Field-Marshal  Blucher  still  lives  for  the 
welfare  of  Germany." 

Blucher  kindly  shook  hands  with  him.  "Would 
that  your  were  right,  Gneisenau,  and  that  I  really 
lived  for  the  welfare  of  Germany  I  But  the  gen- 
tlemen at  headquarters  need  me  no  longer.  I  am 
once  more  a  nuisance  and  a  stumbling-block — I 
am,  according  to  them,  the  old  madcap  again — 
the  rash  hussar,  just  because  I  shout,  '  We  must 
advance  upon  Paris ! '  while  the  trubsalsspritzen  * 
are  croaking  all  the  time,  ( We  must  make  peace ! 
If  we  go  to  France,  we  are  lost ! '  Gneisenau,  if 
this  state  of  affairs  goes  on  for  any  length  of  time, 
this  will  be  my  last  birthday,  for  I  shall  die  of 
anger.  I  know  if  we  make  peace,  the  blood  shed 
has  been  in  vain,  and  our  victories  in  vain ;  and 
in  a  few  years,  when  he  has  recovered  from  his 
losses,  Bonaparte  will  commence  the  same  game 
and  we  shall  have  to  pass  through  the  same  series 
of  disastrous  events.  But  they  are  destitute  of 
courage.  Bernadotte  does  not  want  us  to  hurt 
the  French,  and  the  Emperor  of  Austria  desires 
to  spare  his  dear  son-in-law,  and  they  are  besieg- 
ing our  king  and  the  Emperor  Alexander  in  such 
a  vigorous  manner,  that  they  are  at  a  loss  what 
to  do." 

"  And  what  should  we  be  here  for  ?  "  inquired 
Gneisenau,  smiling.  "  What  would  Field-Marshal 

*  A  favorite  expression  of  Blucher  when  he  alluded 
to  the  timid  diplomatists  who  advised  the'allies  to  make 
peaci  with  Napoleon. 


Blucher  be  here  for,  if  we  do  not  march  forward  f 
No,  the  gentlemen  who  are  so  desirous  of  making 
peace  are  greatly  mistaken  if  they  believe  that 
they  are  able  to  set  at  naught  our  successes,  and 
that  it  depends  on  their  will  only  to  make  peace  or 
war.  The  wheel  that  is  to  crush  Napoleon  is  in 
motion,  and  no  human  hand  can  arrest  it.  Let  the 
trubsalsspritzen,  as  your  excellency  says,  croak : 
public  opinion  in  Germany  and  throughout  Eu- 
rope speaks  louder,  and  it  clamors  for  war,  and  we 
shall  have  it.  For  this  reason  your  excellency  ought 
not  to  despond,  nor  prevent  us  from  celebrating 
your  birthday  in  a  worthy  manner.  Your  whole 
army  longs  to  present  its  congratulations  to  you, 
and  the  officers  of  York's  corps,  who  intended  to 
give  your  excellency  a  ball  to-night,  and  bad  so 
confidently  counted  upon  your  consent  that  they 
had  already  made  all  arrangements,  are  in  despair 
because  you  did  not  accept  their  invitation.  Gen- 
eral York  himself  is  quite  vexed  at  your  refusal, 
and  thinks  you  decline  because  you  do  not  wish 
to  meet  him." 

"I  do  not  care  if  he  is  vexed,  old  curmudgeon 
that  he  is!"  cried  Blucher.  "He  must  alwa}s 
have  something  to  grumble  at,  and  has  oftei 
enough  said  very  hard  things  about  me.  Let  him 
do  so  again,  for  aught  I  care !  I  shall,  never- 
theless, not  go  to  the  ball.  What  should  I  co 
there?  Merry  I  cannot  be,  for  my  indignation 
almost  stifles  my  heart,  and,  instead  of  smiling  on 
people,  I  would  rather  show  them  my  fist.  Ah, 
Gneisenau,  men  are  mean  and  contemptible,  after 
all,  and  those  at  headquarters  are  the  most  des- 
picable! They  want  peace!  Do  you  compre- 
hend that,  Gneisenau — peace  !  now  that  we  are  on 
the  road  to  Paris,  and  only  need  make  up  our 
minds  to  destroy  the  power  of  our  enemy  !  Oh, 
it  is  enough  to  make  a  fellow  swear!  To  the 
gallows  with  all  the  trubsalsspritzen ! — all  the 
old  women  who  are  wearing  uniforms,  and  who, 
in  place  of  cocked  hats,  should  rather  put  night- 
caps on  tneir  heads  ! " 

"  Ah  !  "  exclaimed  Gneisenau,  smiling,  "  should 
they  do  so,  your  excellency  would  tear  off 
their  nightcaps,  and  forcibly  put  their  hats  again 
on  their  heads.  And  as  for  the  old  women. 


BLUCHER'S  BIRTHDAY. 


231 


Blucher,  the  young  hero,  will  in  the  end  rout 
them  all,  and  drive  them  from  the  field." 

"  Ah,  Gneisenau.  if  I  succeed  in  doing  so,  then 
I  should  be  young  again,  and  live  to  see  still 
many  a  birthday,"  sighed  Blucher.  "  I  have  con- 
ceived every  thing  so  clearly  and  well — the  whole 
plan  of  the  campaign  was  already  settled  in  my 
mind  !  Come,  Gneisenau,  let  me  show  you  all  on 
the  map,  and  then  you  will  have  to  admit  that 
Napoleon  would  be  annihilated  if  we  could  carry 
this  plan  into  execution.  Come,  look  at  the 
map !  " 

Gneisenau  stood  by  the  side  of  the  field-mar- 
shal, and  bent  over  the  map  lying  on  the  table. 

"  See,"  said  Blucher,  eagerly,  "  here  is  Paris, 
here  is  the  Rhine,  and  here  are  we ;  farther  be- 
low—" 

"  But,  your  excellency,"  interrupted  Gneise- 
nau, surprised,  "  you  have  a  very  old  and  poor 
map ;  it  is  impossible  to  base  any  strategic  plans 
on  it." 

"  How  so  ?  "  asked  Blucher,  in  amazement. 

"  Because  this  map  is  certainly  incorrect,  your 
excellency  ;  we  have  entirely  new  and  very  ac- 
curate maps  now,  made  from  the  latest  sur- 

"  Ah,  what  do  I  care  for  your  surveys  ?  "  cried 
Blucher,  impatiently.  "  By  your  surveys,  I  sup- 

:,  you  cannot  displace  the  countries,  cities,  and 
:s  ?  Paris  remains  where  it  is,  the  Rhine 
3  where  it  has  always  flowed,  and  behind 
Rhine  lies  Germany,  where  it  has  always 


Ki 
I 


"  Yes,  but  you  will  not  find  on  this  map  the 
113,   village:?,  forests,  rivers,  and  hills,  which 
will  meet  on  your  advance,  and  which,  if  not 
taken  into  consideration,  might  prove  formidable 

Eacles." 
What  do  I  care  for  the  town-,  villages,  for- 
i  ivers,  an  1  hills  ?  "  replied  Blucher  :  "  I  ad- 
;e  all  the  time,  and  that  says  every  thing, 
troops 

ke  up  their  quarters  ;  through  the  forests  we 
.^i all  cut  a  road  if  there  is  none  ;  we  shall  build 
bridges  across  the  rivers,  and  run  over  the  tops 
of  the  mountains ;  if  the  field-pieces  cannot  be 


hauled  over  them,  we  shall  take  them  around  the 
l>as!-.  The  most  important  thing  is,  that  we  ad 
vance,  and  I  am  quite  able  to  consider  that  on 

» 

my  map  here. — Now,  then !  here  is  Paris.  Pui 
your  finger  on  Paris,  Gneisenau."  The  general 
obeyed,  and  pressed  the  tip  of  his  forefinger  on 
the  spot  indicated.  "  And  here,"  cried  Blucber, 
pressing  his  own  finger  on  the  map,  u  here  are 
we,  the  Silesian  army.  Between  us  lies  the 
Rhine.  Put  your  other  finger  on  the  Rhine, 
Gneisenau."  Gneisenau  put  his  middle-finger  on 
the  black  line  marking  the  Rhine.  "  Now  put 
your  little-finger  down  here,  between  Mannheim 
and  Kehl ;  there  stands  the  army  of  Bohemia 
under  Prince  Schwartzenberg  ;  and  up  here,  where 
I  hold  my  thumb,  in  Holland,  is  Bulow,  with  his 
corps.  See,  on  this  side,  we  have  therefore  com- 
pletely hemmed  in  France;  and,  on  the  other 
side,  where  the  Atlantic  Ocean  is — or  is  it  no 
longer  there  on  your  new-fangled  maps  ?  " 

"  Yes,  your  excellency,"  exclaimed  Gneisenau, 
laughing,  "  it  is  still  there." 

"  Well,  then,  England  posts  her  ships  there ; 
and  in  the  south,  on  the  Pyrenees,  stand  the 
Spaniards,  who  have  sworn  to  revenge  themselves 
on  Bonaparte.  Now  we  advance  all  at  the  same 
time  into  France.  Prince  Schwartzenberg  pene- 
trates with  his  army  through  Switzerland  ;  Bulow 
marches  through  the  Netherlands,  after  conquer- 
ing them,  and  joins  my  forces ;  and  I  cross  the 
Rhine  here  in  three  large  columns  with  the  Sile- 
sian army — the  first  column  at  Mannheim,  the 
second  at  Kaub,  and  the  third — well,  now  I  have 
no  finger  left  to — " 

''  Here  is  mine,  your  excellency,"  said  GncLse- 
nau,  raising  the  finger  marking  the  line  of  the 
Rhine. 

But  Blucher  hastily  pressed  it  down.  "  Do  not 
remove  that ! "  he  cried ;  "  what  is  to  become  of 
in  v  whole  plan  if  that  finger  should  desert  its  po- 
sition ?  Ktr;>  it  there,  then  ! — Well,  here,  where 
I  hold  my  left  thumb,  at  Cobleutz,  the  third  col- 
umn will  cross  the  Rhine.  On  the  other  bank  we 
shall  all  unite,  take  Sarrebruck,  advance  by  forced 
marches  upon  Metz,  and — " 

"  Your  excellency,"  shouted   the  pipe-master, 


232 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


throwing  open  the  door,  "a  courier  from  the 
King  of  Prussia,  from  Fnmkfort-ou-the-Main  !  " 

"  Let  him  come  in ! "  cried  Blucher,  hastily 
throwing  off  his  military  cloak,  and  putting  on 
his  uniform-coat.  He  had  not  yet  quite  done  so 
when  the  courier  entered  the  room. 

"What  orders  do  you  bring  from  my  king 
and  master  ? "  inquired  Blucher,  meeting  the 
officer. 

"  Your  excellency,  his  majesty  King  Frederick 
William  III.,  and  his  majesty  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander, request  Field-Marshal  Blucher  to  repair 
immediately  to  Frankfort,  where  the  monarchs 
have  an  important  communication  to  make  to 
the  field-marshal.  They  wish  your  excellency  to 
start  forthwith,  in  order  to  reach  Frankfort  as  soon 
as  possible." 

"  Inform  their  majesties  that  I  shall  be  there  in 
two  hours. — Well,  Gneisenau,  what  do  you  say 
now  ?  "  asked  Blucher,  when  the  courier  left  the 
room. 

"  I  say  that  the  monarchs  have  at  length  dis- 
covered who  alone  can  give  them  efficient  assist- 
ance and  valuable  advice,  and  that  they  have, 
therefore,  applied  to  Field-Marshal  Blucher." 

"  And  I  tell  you,"  shouted  Blucher,  in  a  thun- 
dering voice,  "  that  the  monarchs  send  for  me  to 
inform  me  that  we  are  to  face  about  and  go  home. 
If  it  were  any  thing  else,  they  would  have  sent  me 
word  by  an  officer ;  but,  as  it  is,  they  are  afraid 
lest  I  grow  furious,  and  so  they  intend  to  inform 
me  in  the  mildest  possible  manner  of  their  decis- 
ion, and  wish  to  pat  my  cheeks  tenderly  while 
telling  me  of  it.  But  they  mistake ;  I  shall  tell 
them  tne  truth,  as  I  would  any  one  else,  and 
they  shall  see  that  it  is  all  the  same  to  me  whether 
they  have  a  crown  on  their  heads  or  a  forage- 
cap ;  the  truth  must  out,  and  they  shall  hear  it, 
as  sure  as  my  name  is  Blucher!  But  I  must 
dress  for  the  occasion — it  shall  be  a  gala-day  for 
me.  With  my  orders  on  my  breast,  and  the  em- 
peror's sword  of  honor  at  my  side,  I  will  appear 
before  them  and  tell  them  the  truth." 


CHAPTER  XLI. 


PASSAGE     OF    THE     RHINE. 

THE  Emperor  Alexander  and  Kin&  Frederick 
William  were  in  the  king's  cabinet,  awaiting 
Field-Marshal  Blucher,  for  the  courier  had  just 
returned  and  reported  that  the  field-marshal  prom- 
ised to  be  at  Frankfort  within  two  hours. 

"  The  two  hours  have  just  elapsed,"  said  Alex- 
ander, glancing  at  the  clock,  "  and  Blucher,  who 
is  known  to  be  a  very  punctual  man,  will  un- 
doubtedly soon  be  here.  Ah,  there  is  a  carriage ; 
it  is  he,  no  doubt ! " 

"  Yes,  it  is  he,"  said  the  king,  who  had  stepped 
to  the  window,  and  was  looking  out.  "He  is 
alighting  with  the  nimbleness  of  a  youth,  in  spite 
of  his  seventy-one  years.  He  is  really  a  hero  ! " 

"  And  will  your  majesty  be  so  kind  as  to  enter 
into  my  jest  ?  Will  you  assist  me  in  it,  and  con- 
firm my  words  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  sire  ;  but  I  tell  you,  beforehand,  our 
jest  may  render  the  old  firebrand  very  grave,  acd 
we  may  happen  to  get  a  scolding." 

"That  is  just  what  I  am  longing  for,"  replied 
the  emperor,  smiling.  "  Old  Blucher's  scoldir  g 
is  wholesome,  and  invigorates  the  heart ;  it  is  a 
new  and  vital  air  which  his  words  breathe  upon 
me.  It  is  flattering  to  be  scolded  for  once  like  a 
common  mortal." 

"  Well,  if  you  desire  that,  sire,"  said  the  king, 
smiling,  "Blucher  will  certainly  afford  you  this 
pleasure  to-day." 

The  door  opened ;  a  footman  entered  and  an- 
nounced Field-Marshal  Blucher.  The  two  mon- 
archs met  him.  Both  shook  hands  with  him,  and 
bade  him  welcome  with  great  cordiality.  This, 
however,  instead  of  gladdening  Blucher,  filled 
him  with  distrust. 

"  They  pat  me,  because  they  want  to  scratch 
me,"  said  Blucher  to  himself,  "  but  they  shall  not 
fool  me ! "  His  features  assumed  a  defiant  ex- 
pression, and  a  dark  cloud  covered  his  brow. 

"To-day  is  your  birthday,  field-marshal,"  said 
the  king ;  "  that  is  the  reason  we  have  sent  for 
you ;  we  desired  to  congratulate  you  m  person 


BUTCHER'S  BIRTHDAY. 


233 


You  have  passed  through  a  year  of  heroism,  and 
the  new  one  cannot  bring  you  nobler  laurels  than 
those  you  have  already." 

"Ah,  your  majesty,  I  believe  it  might  after 
all,"  said  Blucher,  quickly.  "  The  laurels  grow- 
ing in  France  are  the  noblest  of  all ;  that  is  why 
I  should  like  to  gather  them." 

"  Ah !  the  Emperor  Napoleon  will  not  suffer 
it,"  said  Alexander.  "  He  values  them  too  high- 
ly, and  it  is  not  advisable  for  us  to  seek  them,  for 
he  is  not  the  man  to  allow  us  to  take  what  be- 
longs to  him." 

"  But  he  was  the  very  man  to  take  a  great 
many  things  that  did  not  belong  to  him,"  cried 
Blucher,  vehemently. 

"  That  which  did  not  belong  to  him  we  have 
taken  again,  and  have  satisfied  the  ends  of  jus- 
tice," said  the  king,  gravely. 

"  No,  we  have  not  satisfied  the  ends  of  justice," 
cried  Blucher.  "It  is  justice  if  we  march  to 
Paris — to  take  all  from  him  whom  your  majesties 
still  call  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  but  who,  in  my 
eyes,  is  nothing  but  an  infamous  tyrant,  presump- 
tuous enough  to  put  a  crown  on  his  head,  and  as- 
a  throne  to  which  he  has  no  right  whatever, 
and  who,  moreover,  has  treated  us  Germans  as 
thoujh  we  were  hi*  slaves.  Ay,  it  is  justice  if 
we  take  from  the  robber  of  kingdoms,  the  brag- 
gart winner  of  battles,  all  that  he  has  appropri- 
ated, and  send  him  back  to  Corsica.  That  would 
be  justice,  your  majesty ;  and  if  it  is  not  adminis- 
,  it  is  a  morbid  generosity  that  prevents  it, 

which   is  utterly  out  of  place   in   regard  to 

» 

The  emperor  cast  a  glance  full  of  indescribable 

itisf.iction  on  tho  king,  who  responded  to  it  with 
gentle  nod. 

"My  dear   Blucher,"   .-  i  ler,   kindly, 

n  :i"t  y.-t  permitted  me  to  wish  you  joy 
your  birthday.     God  bless  you,  my  dear  field- 
•Oial,  an  1   may  tl»N  ye;ir  hrini:  us  the  peace 
id  repose  which  one  so  much  needs  after  the 
exposures  of  campaign  lit  •  < -hilly  when 

fis  seventy-one  years  old !  " 
"I  do  not  know  whether  I  am  as  old  as  that," 
Mud  Blucher,  indignantly ;  "  I   know  only  that  I 


tUOU! 

cend 


am  by  no  means  desirous  of  repose,  but  rather 
deem  it  a  great  misfortune  just  now." 

The  emperor  seemed  not  to  have  heard  him, 
but  continued  quietly:  "Yes,  certainly,  my  deal 
field-marshal,  you  need  retirement ;  at  your  ven- 
erable age  we  should  not  subject  ourselves  to 
such  prolonged  fatigues  in  the  field." 

"  Besides,  I  am  sure  you  wish  peace,  like  the 
rest  of  us,"  said  the  king,  who  saw  that  the  veins 
on  Blucher' s  forehead  were  swelling,  and  who 
wished  to  forestall  too  violent  a  reply.  "We 
have  reflected  a  long  while  how  we  might  give 
you  a  pleasant  surprise  on  your  birthday,  but  it 
was  difficult  for  us.  You  have  already  all  the 
orders  and  honor  we  can  bestow ;  you  are  blessed 
with  riches,  and  we  have  found  it  difficult  to  make 
you  a  present  worthy  of  the  respect  and  love  we 
entertain  for  you." 

"  But  his  majesty  the  king  has  resolved  to  give 
you  something  which  will  gladden  your  noble 
heart.  Field-marshal,  we  give  you  peace  as  a 
birthday  present !  We  have  resolved  to  make 
peace  with  Napoleon ;  and  to-day,  on  your  birth- 
day, the  conditions,  which,  you  know,  have  for  a 
long  time  past  formed  the  subject  of  secret  nego- 
tiations, are  to  be  signed.  The  Emperor  Napo- 
leon has  declared  his  readiness  to  accept  them, 
and,  therefore,  there  are  no  further  obstacles  to 
the  cessation  of  war." 

"  To-morrow  our  troops  will  set  out  for  home," 
saM  the  king.  "The  requirements  of  honor  and 
duty  have  been  satisfied ;  the  welfare  and  pros- 
perity of  our  subjects  demand  peace.  You,  my 
dear  field-marshal,  have  been  selected  to  direct 
the  retreat  of  the  troops.  Conformably  to  the 
wishes  of  his  majesty  the  Emperor  Alexander, 
and  his  royal  highness  the  crown  prince  of 
Sweden,  I  appoint  you  commander-in-chief  of  all 
the  retreating  troops.  The  generals  will  have 
Uy  to  comply  with  your  orders;  and,  just  as 
Prince  Schwartzenborg  was  general-in-chief  of  the 
a-lv;mee,  you,  field-marshal,  arc  general-in-chief 
of  the  retreat.  Confiding  in  your  energy,  saga- 
city, and  zeal,  we  hope  that  you  will  conduct  the 
;t  satisfactorily,  and  the  men  will  reach  their 
homes  as  soon  as  possible.  YO-J  are  now,  there- 


234 


KAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


fore,  coinmander-in-cbief ;  that  is  your  birthday 
gift,  and  we  hope  you  will  be  content  with  it." 

"No,"  cried  Blucher,  drawing  a  deep  breath, 
and  unable  longer  tc  restrain  his  anger,  "  I  am 
not  content  with  it — not  at  all ;  and  I  must  say 
that  I  do  not  wish  this  appointment,  which  seems 
to  me  a  disgrace.  General-in-chief  of  the  retreat- 
ing armies !  I  should  like  to  ask  his  majesty  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  why  his  soldiers  have  given 
me  the  honorary  title  of  '  Marshal  Forward,'  if  I 
am  now  to  be  '  General-in-chief  Backward  ? '  If 
your  majesty  has  given  me  the  golden-sheathed 
sword  only  for  the  purpose  of  wearing  it  on  pa- 
rade, I  do  not  want  it.  Sire,  here  it  is ;  I  lay  it 
down  at  your  feet  with  due  respect.  Your  ma- 
jesty, you  desired  to  give  it  to  the  general-in- 
chief  cf  the  retreating  troops,  and  that  I  am  not, 
and  cannot  be ! "  He  hastily  unbuckled  his 
sword,  and  laid  it  on  the  table  beside  the  em- 
peror. 

"And  why  can  you  not?"  asked  Alexander, 
composedly. 

"Because  I  cannot  disgrace  my  honest  name 
by  doing  dishonest  things,"  cried  Blucher,  vehe- 
mently. 

"Blucher,  you  forget  yourself,"  said  the  king, 
almost  sternly ;  "your  words  are  too  strong." 

"Yes,  your  majesty,  I  know  that  they  are 
strong,"  exclaimed  Blucher;  "but  the  truth  is 
strong,  too ;  I  must  relieve  myself  of  it ;  I  can  no 
longer  keep  it  back,  and,  the  truth  is,  that  it 
would  be  a  shame  and  a  stupidity  if  we  retreat 
without  reconquering,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  that  which  we  were  obliged  to  cede  to 
France.  Your  majesties  have  said  that  the  re- 
quirements of  honor  and  justice  are  satisfied. 
Permit  me  to  reply  that  this  is  not  so,  and  can- 
not be,  if  we  retreat ;  for  we  show  that  we  are 
Btill  distrusting  our  own  power,  and,  notwith- 
standing our  superior  army,  deem  ourselves  too 
weak  to  attack  the  man  who  has  been  attacking 
us  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  to  whom  nothing 
was  sacred,  whether  treaties,  or  rights  of  prop- 
erty, or  nationality.  No,  the  requirements  of 
justice  are  not  satisfied  if  we  face  about  now  and 
consider  the  frontiers  of  France  more  sacred  than 


the  French  have  ever  considered  the  frontiera 
of  Germany.  Bonaparte  has  as  yet  Holland,  a 
piece  of  Germany,  and  Italy,  and  he  says  he  will 
not  yield  a  single  village  which  he  has  conquered, 
though  the  enemy  stand  on  the  heights  of  Paris. 
It  would  but  be  right  for  us  to  march  to  that 
city,  and  compel  him  to  disgorge,  not  merely  a 
village,  but  all  that  he  has  taken.  And  if  this  be 
not  done,  if  the  peace-croakers  attain  their  ob- 
ject, a  cry  of  disappointment  and  anger  will 
burst  forth  throughout  Europe,  and  the  nations, 
lifting  their  hands  to  God,  will  curse  the  pusil- 
lanimity and  weakness  of  their  princes.  They 
would  be  justified  in  doing  so ;  for  it  was  not  for 
this  that  brave  men,  at  the  first  call  of  their  king, 
left  their  families ;  it  was  not  for  this  that  they 
sacrificed  their  property  on  the  altar  of  the  father- 
land. The  women  did  not  become  nurses  and 
sisters  of  charity,  nor  did  their  husbands  and 
sons  shed  their  blood,  that  only  one  great  battle 
might  be  gained  over  Bonaparte,  and  that  h<3 
then  might  be  allowed  leisurely  to  evacuate  Ger- 
many. We  did  not  even  pursue  him,  but  marched 
slowly,  while  he  safely  wended  bis  way  to  tho 
Rhine.  And  now  he  is  to  remain  quietly  in 
France  !  The  world  is  to  receive  no  satisfaction, 
and  the  tyrant  is  not  to  be  punished  !  If  that  bo 
right  and  just,  well — no  matter !  I  am  an  old 
soldier,  and  am  not  versed  in  the  tricks  of  diplo- 
matists! Nor  do  I  care  to  be  versed  in  them! 
They  know  how  to  manage  matters  so  insidiously 
that  at  last  they  convert  wrong  into  right — false- 
hood into  truth,  and  disguise  their  cowardice  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  looks  like  wisdom.  The 
only  thing  I  understand  is,  that  I  am  no  more  of 
any  use,  and  I  request  your  majesty  to  give  me 
my  discharge  as  a  birthday  present — be  so  kind 
as  to  grant  it  immediately.  I  am  much  too 
young  to  become  General-in-chief  Backward,  and 
it  is,  therefore,  better  for  me  to  stand  aside,  and 
let  others  take  the  command  of  the  retreating 
troops.  Your  majesties  will  graciously  pardon 
me  if  I  take  the  liberty  of  withdrawing."  He 
bowed  with  respect  and  turned  quickly  toward  the 
door. 

"But  why  in  such  haste?"  asked  the  king 


BUTCHER'S  BIRTHDAY. 


235 


'Pray  stay;  I  have  not  yet  granted  your  dis- 
charge." 

"  But  your  majesty,  I  know,  will  grant  it,  and  I 
consider  you  have  already  done  so.  I  beg  leave 
to  withdraw." 

u  But  stay  ! "  exclaimed  Alexander. 

"  Pardon  me,  your  majesty,  I  must  go  ! " 

"  Why  ?  Tell  us  honestly  the  truth,  field-mar- 
shal." 

"Well,"  said  Blucher,  standing  at  the  door, 
"  if  your  majesty  orders  me  to  tell  the  truth,  I 
will  do  so.  I  must  go,  because  I  cannot  endure 
it  here ;  I  must  find  some  place  where  I  may 
give  vent  to  my  rage,  and,  by  a  vast  amount  of 
swearing,  relieve  my  heart." 

"  What ! "  cried  Alexander,  laughing.  "  Your 
heart  is  still  oppressed  ?  " 

"Yes,  your  majesty,  what  I  have  said  is  as 
nothing,"  replied  Blucher,  in  a  melancholy  tone  ; 
"  those  words  were  only  as  a  few  rain-drops ;  the 
whole  violence  of  my  anger,  with  its  thunder, 
lightning,  hail,  and  storm,  is  still  in  my  heart, 
and  may  God  have  mercy  on  him  on  whom  it  will 
burst !  Your  majesties  may  see  that  it  is  high 
time  for  me  to  withdraw." 

'•  Otherwise,  you  think,  the  thunder-storm 
might  burst  here  ?  "  inquired  Alexander,  smil- 
hg. 

41  I  am  afraid  so,  sire,"  replied  Blucher,  gravely. 

"  Perhaps  it  may  be  allayed,  however,"  said 
ck  Willinm,  approaching  Blucher.  "  You 

ve  determined,  then,  not  to  accept  the  position 
offered  you  ?  " 

"  I  ilemand  at  once  my  discharge,  your  majesty  ; 
my  discharge ! " 

"  You  do  not  wish  to  be  commander-in-chief  of 

Eiug  troops?"  asked  Alexander. 
My  name  is  '  Marshal  Forward  ! '  "  said  Blu- 
,  proudly. 
Aii'l   it  is   your   firm   belief,   fieM-marshal," 
;d  the  king,  "  that  it  would  be  neither  just 
nor  honorable  for  the  allies  now  to  make  peace 
and  go  home  ?  " 

"  Your  majesty,  it  i? — it  is  my  earnest  convic- 
tion, and  I  shall  never  be  able  to  change  it." 
I  "Well,  then,"  said  Alexander  turning  toward 


"Per 
Frederic 
have  de 


the  king,  "  is  not  your  majesty,  too,  of  the  opin. 
ion  that  it  would  be  advantageous  for  us  to  allow 
ourselves  to  be  directed  by  the  views  and  convic 
tions  of  so  brave  and  experienced  a  general  ? 
Do  you  not  believe  that  we  owe  it  to  him,  in 
consideration  of  the  distinguished  services  which 
he  has  performed,  to  believe  him,  the  brave  sol- 
dier, rather  than  the  tricky  diplomatists  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  it,"  said  the  king,  smil- 
ing, "  and  I  confess  that  all  that  the  field-marshal 
has  told  us  has  greatly  modified  my  views,  and 
induced  me  to  adopt  another  course.  If  Blucher 
insists  that,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  requirements 
of  honor  and  justice,  we  should  not  now  make 
peace,  I  believe  him." 

"  And  if  he  has  insurmountable  objections  to 
being  called  Marshal  Backward,"  exclaimed  the 
emperor,  merrily,  4t  well,  then,  he  must  retain  the 
name  my  soldiers  have  given  him." 

"  But,  your  majesty,"  cried  Blucher,  who  lis- 
tened with  amazement,  "  what  means  all  this  ?  " 

"  It  means,"  said  the  king,  putting  his  hand 
on  Blucher's  shoulder,  "it  means  that  I  cannot 
grant  you  the  discharge  which  you  have  re- 
quested, because  I  need  your  services  more  than 
ever." 

"  It  means,"  said  the  emperor,  putting  his  hand 
on  Blucher's  other  shoulder,  "  that  Marshal  For- 
ward is  the  very  man  we  need  at  this  juncture. 
For,  in  spite  of  all  ministers,  diplomatists,  and 
peace-croukers  (I  thank  you  for  that  word),  we 
have  determined  to  carry  on  the  war  to  the  best 
of  our  power." 

Blucher  uttered  a  cry  of  joy,  and  lifting  up 
his  large  eyes,  he  exclaimed :  "  Good  Heaven,  I 
thank  Thee,  with  all  my  heart ;  for  the  day  is 
dawning  now,  and  we  shall  soon  see  how  the  sun 
shines  in  Paris  ! " 

"  You  did  not  wish  to  be  commander-in-chief, 
of  the  retreating  army,"  said  the  king,  kindly  ; 
"  let  us  appoint  you,  then,  second  general-in-chief 
of  the  U'lvancinu'  army." 

"  How  so  ?  I  do  not  underhand  that,"  said  Blu« 
cher,  bewildered.  "  That  is  to  say,  I  remain  gen- 
eral-in-chief of  my  Silesian  army  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  with  enlarged  power  and  indepeu 


236 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


dence,  and  with  a  greater  number  of  troops.  Your 
corps  has  suffered  a  great  deal  ;  on  your  victori- 
ous fields  of  Mockern  and  Leipsic  you  lost  many 
brave  soldiers.  Your  ranks  need  filling  up,  in 
order  that  you  may  act  vigorously  and  energeti- 
cally. Therefore,  three  new  corps  will  be  added 
to  your  forces*  —  a  Prussian  corps  under  General 
Kleist,  a  Hessian  corps  under  the  crown  prince 
of  Hesse,  and  a  mixed  corps  under  the  Duke  of 
Saxe-Coburg,  the  whole  amounting  to  about  fifty 
thousand  fresh  soldiers.  With  these  reenforce- 
ments,  added  to  your  own  eighty-five  thousand 
men,  you  will  be  at  the  head  of  an  army  with 
which  great  things  may  be  accomplished,  and 
with  which  I  believe  you  may  gather  your  laurels 
in  France." 

"Moreover,"  said  Alexander,  kindly,  "you  will 
hereafter  not  be  responsible  to  any  other  com- 
mander. We  shall  consider  jointly  with  you  all 
operations  of  the  war,  and  the  whole  plan  of  the 
campaign,  and  lay  before  you  all  general  com- 
munications. Prince  Schwartzenberg  will  always 
keep  you  well  instructed  of  the  movements  of  the 
grand  army,  and  only  request  you  to  inform  him 
of  those  you  deem  it  best  for  the  Silesian  army  to 
make  in  cooperation  with  the  former,  f  You  will, 
therefore,  be  entirely  at  liberty  to  carry  your 
own  plans  into  execution,  and  will  have  only  to 
report  to  Schwartzenberg  and  to  us  what  you  are 
doing.  Are  you  now  content,  Blucher  ?  " 

"  Do  you  still  demand  your  discharge  as  a  birth- 
day present  ?  "  inquired  the  king. 

"  You  ask  me  whether  I  am  content,  or  demand 
my  discharge?  "  cried  Blucher,  cheerfully.  "Now 
that  we  advance,  I  would  not  take  my  discharge, 
and  should  your  majesty  give  it  to  me,  to  punish 
me  for  my  unseemly  conduct,  I  would  secretly 
accompany  the  army  and  fight  in  the  ranks  ;  for 
you  ought  to  know  that  I  do  not  advocate  a 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  on  account  of  the 
honor  it  might  reflect  on  me,  but  for  the  rights  of 
all  Germany  ;  and  for  this  reason  I  am  not  only  con- 
tent, but  I  thank  Heaven,  my  king,  and  the  Em- 


*  Varnhagen  von  Ense,  "  Bkgraphy  of  Prince  Blucher 
>f  Wahlstatt  "  p.  205. 
t  Ibid. 


peror  Alexander,  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart ; 
and  especially  for  the  great  confidence  you  place  in 
me.  This  is  the  most  flattering  of  all  the  honors 
you  have  lavished  upon  me,  and  I  shall  endeavor 
with  head  and  arm  to  render  myself  worthy  of  it. 
I  shall  always  remember  that  my  king  intrusted 
me  with  the  sacred  mission  of  blotting  out  the 
disgrace  of  Jena,  and  of  causing  our  angel,  Queen 
Louisa,  who  shed  so  many  tears  for  us  on  earth, 
to  rejoice  in  heaven  over  our  deeds — and — " 
his  words  choked  his  utterance,  his  eyes  grew  dim  ; 
pressing  his  hand  to  them  with  a  quivering  move- 
ment, he  said,  in  a  stifled  voice,  "  I  believe — may 
God  forgive  me ! — I  believe  I  am  weeping  !  But 
my  tears  are  tears  of  joy ;  they  do  my  heart  good, 
and  your  majesties  will  forgive  them  ! — Well,  now 
I  am  all  right  again,"  he  added,  after  a  pause.  "I 
request  your  majesties  to  give  me  instructions, 
and  tell  me  what  is  to  be  done,  and  when  we 
shall  cross  the  Rhine." 

Toward  nightfall  Blucher  returned  from  Frank- 
fort to  Hochst.  In  front  of  his  door  he  was  met 
by  General  Gneisenau,  Colonel  Muffling,  and  sev- 
eral other  gentlemen  of  his  staff.  Blucher  made 
a  very  wry  face,  receiving  them  with  loud  grun  - 
bling.  "  Oh,  it  is  all  very  well,"  he  said,  alighting 
from  his  carriage.  "  I  can  now  communicate  bal 
news  to  you.  We  shall  lie  still  here,  like  lazy 
bears,  during  the  whole  winter ;  we  shall  neither 
advance  nor  retreat.  The  diplomatists  have  hatch- 
ed out  the  idea,  and  I  am  sure  they  will  arrange 
a  pretty  treaty  of  peace  for  us !  Well,  I  do  not 
care ;  I  will  try  to  suppress  my  grief,  and  lead  a 
happy  life.  If  we  are  inactive,  we  shall  at  least 
try  to  kill  time  in  as  pleasant  a  manner  as  pos- 
sible. I  shall  commence  diverting  myself  this 
very  day,  and,  despite  the  apostles  of  peace,  show 
that  they  have  not  ruffled  my  temper.  The  officers 
of  York's  corps  will  give  a  ball  at  Wiesbaden  to- 
night. I  will  go,  immediately  setting  out  for 
Wiesbaden,  and  conveying  the  tidings  to  old  York. 
Well,  gentlemen,  prepare  to  accompany  me ;  and 
you,  General  Gneisenau,  be  so  kind  as  to  go  with 
me  to  my  room  for  a  minute  or  two.  I  wish  to 
tell  you  something."  He  saluted  the  officers,  and 
stepped  quickly  into  the  house  Followed  by 


BLUCHEITS   BIRTHDAY. 


237 


Gneisenau,  he  entered  the  room,  and  carefully 
locked  the  door.  The  wrinkles  now  disappeared 
from  hi?  forehead,  and  an  expression  of  happiness 
beamec  in  his  face.  "  Gneisenau,"  he  said,  encir- 
cling the  tall  form  of  his  friend  in  his  arms,  "  now 
.isten  to  what  I  have  to  say.  What  I  told  you 
about  peace  was  not  true.  We  are  to  advance — 
ay,  to  advance !  and  it  seems  to  me  as  if  I  hear 
Bonaparte's  throne  giving  way  ! " 

"  What,  your  excellency  ! "  exclaimed  Gneise- 
nau, joyfully,  "  we  are  going  to  advance — to  march 
into  France  ?  " 

Blucher  hastily  pressed  his  hand  on  his  mouth. 
"  Hush,  general !  "  he  whispered.  "  At  present  no 
one  must  hear  it ;  it  is  a  secret,  and  we  must  try 
to  conceal  our  movements  as  much  as  possible. 
We  ought  to  do  our  best  to  mislead  the  enemy 
— that  is  ray  plan.  We  must  make  him  believe 
that  the  whole  offensive  force  of  the  allies  is 
turning  toward  Switzerland,  and  that  the  Silesian 
army  is  to  remain  on  the  Rhine  as  a  mere  corps 
of  observation.  Napoleon  will  make  his  disposi- 
tions accordingly :  he  will  leave  but  a  small  force 
on  the  bank  of  the  Rhine  opposite  us,  and  on 
passing  over  to  the  other  side  we  shall  meet  with 
little  resistance." 

"  That  is  again  a  plan  altogether  worthy  of  my 
,''  said  Gneisenau,  smiling.  "  It  is  all-im- 
portant now  for  us  to  let  every  one,  and  above 
all  Napoleon,  know  as  soon  as  possible  that  we 
stay  here." 

"I  will  swear  and  rave  so  loudly  that  he  will 
certainly  hear  it  in  Paris,"  said  Blucber.  "  Let 
us  curse  the  ncc'-.-.-ity  imposed  on  us,  and  se- 
cretly make  all  necessary  dispositions,  inform  the 
commanders,  and  issue  the  orders,  so  that  we 
may  all  cross  the  Rhine  at  midnight  on  the  31st 

December." 

"  What !  The  passage  is  to  take  place  at 
night  on  the  31st  of  December?"  asked 
senau. 

"Yes,  general.  Let  us  begin  the  new  year 
with  a  great  deed,  that  we  may  end  it  with  one." 

"But  will  that  be  possible,  field-marshal? 
Can  all  our  troops  be  prepared  at  so  short  a 
notice  ? " 


"That  is  your  task,  Gneisenau;  .deas  are  your 
province,  execution  is  mine.  You  are  my  head, 
I  am  your  arm ;  and  these  two,  I  believe,  ought 
jointly  to  enable  us  to  cross  the  Rhine  at  mid- 
night on  the  31st  of  December,  as  the  holy  army 
of  vengeance,  which  God  Himself  sends  to  Bona- 
parte as  a  New-Year's  gift.  But  come,  Gneise 
nau,  let  us  ride  to  the  ball.  I  must  dance !  Joy 
is  in  my  legs,  and  I  must  allow  it  to  get  out  of 
them.  I  shall  ask  old  York  to  dance,  and,  while 
we  two  are  hopping  around,  I  must  tell  him  what 
is  to  be  done.  We  are  to  advance ! " 

Blucher's  resolutions  were  carried  into  effect. 
All  dispositions  were  made  in  a  quiet  and  effi- 
cient manner;  and  while  the  field-marshal  scolded 
vehemently  at  the  inactivity  of  the  winter,  Gen- 
eral Gneisenau  secretly  took  steps  to  prepare  for 
the  passage  of  the  Rhine.  Napoleon's  spies  at 
Frankfort  and  on  the  Rhine  heard  only  the  grum- 
bling of  Blucher,  but  they  did  not  see  the  prep- 
arations of  Gneisenau. 

On  the  26th  of  December  orders  were  cLa- 
patched  to  the  commanders  of  the  different  corpa 
of  the  great  Silesian  army,  communicating  the 
time  and  place  of  crossing  the  Rhine,  and  on  t;< 
31st  every  soldier  of  that  army  stood  on  the  bank 
ready  for  the  passage.  This  was  to  be  effected  at 
three  different  points — Mannheim,  Caub,  and  Cob- 
lentz.  The  grand,  all-important  moment  bad 
come  ;  midnight  was  at  hand. 

It  was  a  clear  and  beautiful  night;  the  deep- 
blue  sky  was  spangled  with  stars,  and  the  air 
cold  and  bracing.  None  saw  the  black  columns 
moving  toward  the  Rhine.  The  French,  on  the 
opposite  side,  were  asleep ;  they  did  not  perceive 
Field-Marshal  Blucher,  who,  at  Caub,  on  the  bank 
of  the  river,  was  halting  on  horseback  by  the  side 
of  his  faithful  Gneisenau,  apparently  listening  in 
breathless  suspense.  Suddenly,  the  stillness  wag 
interrupted  by  the  chime  of  a  neighboring  church- 
clock;  another  struck,  and,  like  echoes,  their 
notes  resounded  down  the  Rhine,  in  all  cities  and 
villages,  proclaiming  that  the  old  year  waa  past, 
and  a  new  one  be^un. 

Blucher  took  off  his  gray  forage-cap,  and,  hold 
ing  it  before  his  face,  uttered  a  low,  fervent 


238 


NAPOLEON  AND  BUTCHER. 


prayer.  "  And  now,  forward ! "  he  said,  in  a 
resolute  tone.  "  Let  us  in  person  convey  our 
'  happy  New-Year '  to  the  French ! — And  Thou, 
great  God,  behold  Thy  German  children,  who  are 
shaking  off  the  thraldom  of  long  years,  and  who 
have  become  again  brave  men  !  Heavenly  Father, 
bless  our  undertaking!  Bless  the  Rhine,  that 
it  may  flow  to  the  ocean  again  as  a  free  German 
river  for  German  freemen  ! — And  now,  boys,  for- 
ward !  Build  your  bridges,  for  Heaven  sends  us 
to  France  to  punish  Bonaparte,  and  sing  him  a 
song  of  the  Rhine !  Forward  ! " 


CHAPTER  XLII. 
NAPOLEON'S  NEW-YEAR'S-DAY. 

IT  was  early  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  Jan- 
uary. Napoleon  was  angrily  pacing  his  cabinet, 
while  the  police-minister,  Duke  de  Rovigo,  was 
standing  by  the  emperor's  desk,  and  waiting,  as 
if  afraid  to  look  at  his  master,  lest  his  anger  burst 
upon  his  head. 

"  Why  did  you  not  tell  me  so  yesterday,  Sa- 
vary ?  "  asked  Napoleon,  with  his  flaming  eyes 
on  the  police-minister.  "  Why  did  you  not  in- 
form me,  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  of  the  seditious 
and  refractory  spirit  of  the  speeches  which  cer- 
tain members  dared  to  deliver  ?  " 

"  Sire,  I  had  no  proofs  of  their  guilt.  Speeches, 
it  is  true,  had  been  made,  but  they  vanish,  and 
offer  no  solid  grounds  for  convicting  men  of  crime. 
As  I  have  not  the  honor  of  being  a  member  of 
the  committee  which  your  majesty  has  appointed 
to  take  the  condition  of  France  into  considera- 
tion, I  was  unable  to  hear  the  speeches  delivered 
at  the  meeting.  I  had  to  obtain  palpable  evi- 
dence. I  knew,  not  only  that  the  commission  of 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies  had  resolved  to  have  an 
address  to  your  majesty  published,  but  that  the 
opposition  speaker  of  the  committee,  M.  Ray- 
nouard,  intended  to  have  his  speech  printed  and 
circulated,  in  order  to  prove  to  France  that  the 


committee  of  the  Chamber  had  done  every  thing 
to  give  peace  to  the  nation." 

"  As  if  that  were  the  task  of  those  gentlemen 
— as  if  they  had  to  give  me  advice,  or  could  in- 
fluence me ! "  cried  Napoleon,  vehemently.  "  They 
have  never  dared  raise  their  voices  against  me ; 
but  now  that  we  are  surrounded  by  enemies — 
now  that  it  is  all-important  for  France  to  startle 
the  world  by  her  energy  and  the  unanimity  of  her 
will,  these  men  dare  oppose  me !  You  allowed, 
then,  their  addresses  to  be  sent  to  the  printing- 
office,  Savary  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sire.  But  I  had  the  printing-office  sur- 
rounded by  my  police-agents,  and  waited  until  the 
composition  was  completed  and  the  printing  com- 
menced. Then  they  entered  the  press-room,  seized 
the  copies  already  printed,  knocked  the  types  into 
pi,  and  burned  the  manuscripts,*  as  well  as  the 
proofs,  except  this  one,  which  I  have  the  honor  of 
bringing  to  your  majesty." 

The  emperor,  with  an  impetuous  movement, 
took  up  the  printed  sheet  lying  on  the  table  by  th'3 
side  of  the  duke,  and  glanced  over  it.  "  Savary," 
he  said,  pointing  out  a  passage  on  the  paper,  "  read 
this  to  me.  Read  the  conclusion  of  Raynouard'u 
speech.  Read  it  aloud!"  He  handed  the  paper 
to  the  duke,  and  pointed  out  the  passage. 

Savary  read  as  follows:  "  'Let  us  attempt  no 
dissimulation — our  evils  are  at  their  height;  the 
country  is  menaced  on  the  frontiers  at  all  points  ; 
commerce  is  annihilated,  agriculture  languishes, 
industry  is  expiring ;  there  is  no  Frenchman  who 
has  not,  in  his  family  or  his  fortune,  some  cruel 
wound  to  heal.  The  facts  are  notorious,  and  can 
never  be  sufficiently  enforced.  Agriculture,  for  the 
last  five  years,  has  gained  nothing ;  it  barely  exists, 
and  the  fruit  of  its  toil  is  annually  dissipated  by 
the  treasury,  which  unceasingly  devours  every 
thing  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  ruined  and  famished 
armies.  The  conscription  has  become,  for  all 
France,  a  frightful  scourge,  because  it  has  always 
been  driven  to  extremities  in  its  execution.  For 
the  last  three  years  the  harvest  of  death  has  been 
reaped  three  times  a  year !  A  barbarous  war,  with 


14  M6moires  d'un  Homme  d'fctat,"  vol.  xii.,  p.  294, 


NAPOLEON'S  NEW-YEAR'S-DAY. 


239 


out  object,  swallows  up  the  youth  torn  from  their 
education,  from  agriculture,  commerce,  and  the 
arts.  Have  the  tears  of  mothers  and  the  blood 
of  whole  generations  thus  become  the  patrimony 
of  kings  ?  It  is  fit  that  nations  should  have  a 
moment's  breathing-time  ;  the  period  has  arrived 
when  they  should  cease  to  tear  out  each  other's 
entrails ;  it  is  time  that  thrones  should  be  consol- 
idated, and  that  our  enemies  be  deprived  of  the 
plea  that  we  are  forever  striving  to  carry  into  the 
world  the  torch  of  revolution  ...  To  prevent  the 
country  from  becoming  the  prey  of  foreigners,  it 
is  indispensable  to  nationalize  the  war  ;  and  this 
cannot  be  done  unless  the  nation  and  its  monarch 
be  united  by  closer  bonds.  It  has  become  indis- 
pensable to  give  a  satisfactory  answer  to  our  ene- 
mies' accusations  of  aggrandizement :  there  would 
be  real  magnanimity  in  a  formal  declaration  that 
the  independence  of  the  French  people  and  the 
integrity  of  its  territory  are  all  that  we  contend 
for.  It  is  for  the  government  to  propose  meas- 
ures which  may  promptly  repel  the  enemy,  and 
secure  peace  on  a  durable  basis.  Those  measures 
would  be  at  once  efficacious,  if  the  French  people 
were  persuaded  that  the  government  in  good  faith 
aspired  only  to  the  glory  of  peace,  and  that  their 
blood  would  no  longer  be  shed  but  to  defend  our 
country,  and  secure  the  protection  of  the  laws. 
But  these  words  of 'peace'  and  'country  '  will  re- 
sound in  vain,  if  the  institutions  are  not  guaran- 
teed which  secure  those  blessings.  It  appears, 
therefore,  to  the  commission,  to  be  indispensable 
that,  at  the  same  time  that  the  government  pro- 
the  most  prompt  and  efficacious  measures 
the  security  of  the  country,  his  majesty  should 
be  supplicated  to  maintain  entire  the  execution  of 
the  laws  which  guarantee  to  the  French  the  rights 
of  liberty  and  security,  and  to  the  nation  the  free 
exercise  of  its  political  rights."  * 

"  Well,"  cried  the  emperor,  impetuously,  "  what 
do  you  think  of  that  ?  Does  it  not  sound  like  the 
first  note  of  the  tocsin  by  which  the  people  are  to 
be  called  upon  to  rise  in  rebellion  ?  " 

,  it  is  the  language  of  treason  !"   replied 


uiai,  i 
forth 


uM6moIrrs  d'un  Uomme  d'etat,"  voL  xli.,  p.  298. 


Savary.  "  The  conduct  of  the  members  of  this 
committee  would  justify  your  majesty  to  have 
them  shot  as  traitors."  * 

The  emperor  made  no  reply,  but  bowed  his 
head  on  his  breast,  and,  with  his  hands  folded 
behind  him,  paced  the  room  for  a  few  moments. 
"  Savary,"  he  then  said,  "  it  is  sufficient  for  u 
to  be  at  war  with  our  foreign  enemies  ;  let  UB  not 
get  into  difficulty  with  our  domestic  adversaries. 
This  is  not  the  time  for  doing  so.  If  we  conquer 
our  foreign  enemies,  the  domestic  ones  will  of 
themselves  be  silent ;  but  if  we  succumb,  every 
thing  will  be  different.  Those  gentlemen  have 
acted  both  foolishly  and  ungenerously  (at  a  mo- 
ment when  it  is  all-important  that  France  should 
act  and  think  as  one  man),  to  stir  up  politi- 
cal partisan  feeling ;  and  it  is  ungrateful  to  op- 
pose me  at  a  time  when,  overwhelmed  with  care 
and  work,  I  need  my  whole  energy  to  maintain 
my  position.  Let  us  leave  it  to  fate  to  punish  the 
traitors.  They  will  not  have  long  to  wait ! " 

"  And  those  haughty  members  of  the  Chambet 
of  Deputies  do  not  even  feel  that  they  are  desenr 
ing  of  punishment,"  exclaimed  the  duke,  indig 
nantly.  "  The  whole  committee,  and  M.  Raynou- 
ard  with  them,  have  accompanied  me  to  the  Tuil- 
eries,  and  repaired  to  the  throne-hall  in  order  to 
offer  your  majesty  their  congratulations  for  the 
new  year." 

"  Ah,  it  is  true,  to-day  is  New-Year's-day,"  said 
Napoleon  ;  "  I  had  almost  forgotten  it,  for  the 
cares  and  anxiety  of  the  old  year  have,  as  a  most 
faithful  suite,  followed  me  into  the  new  year. 
But  I  am  glad  you  remind  me  of  it !  I  will  go  to 
the  throne-hall  and  receive  the  congratulations  of 
my  faithful  subjects,  or  those  who  call  themselves 
so.  Follow  me ! " 

In  the  throne-hall  were  assembled,  as  on  every 
New-Ycar's-day,  the  dignitaries  of  France  and  the 
most  prominent  authorities  of  the  government ; 
but  for  the  first  time,  since  the  establishment  of 
tin-  empire,  the  representatives  of  the  foreign  pow. 
ers  and  the  ambassadors  of  the  European  princea 
failed  to  appear  at  the  reception  in  the  Tuileries. 

•  Ibi<L,  jx  294. 


240 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


In  former  years  they  had  hastened  to  present 
their  congratulations  ;  to-day  not  one  of  those 
representatives  was  present,  not  even  the  ambassa- 
dor of  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  Napoleon's  father- 
in-law — not  even  the  ambassador  of  the  King  of 
Naples,  his  brother-in-law  !  The  troops  of  the 
Emperor  Francis  bad  invaded  France ;  the  troops 
of  King  Murat  had  returned  to  Naples,  and  he 
had  informed  his  brother-in-law  that  the  welfare 
of  his  own  country  rendered  it  necessary  for  him 
to  forsake  France.  The  very  princes  of  the  Con- 
federation of  the  Rhine,  hitherto  the  most  syco- 
phantic flatterers  of  the  emperor,  had  likewise 
turned  away  from  him  ;  all  the  allies,  adulators, 
and  friends  of  his  days  of  prosperity  had  left  him, 
as  rats  desert  the  sinking  ship.  No  one  was  in 
the  throne-hall  except  the  dignitaries  and  officers 
of  France,  and  one-half  of  these  came,  perhaps, 
because  the  duties  of  their  offices  rendered  it  in- 
cumbent on  them — because  the  events  of  the 
future  could  not  be  positively  foreseen,  and  the 
emperor,  thanks  to  his  lucky  star,  might  finally 
conquer  his  enemies. 

The  emperor  entered  with  his  usual  proud  and 
careless  indifference.  His  quick  glance  swept 
past  the  ranks  of  the  assembly,  and  rested  for  a 
moment  on  the  place  where  the  ambassadors  of 
the  foreign  governments  formerly  stood  beside 
the  throne,  and  where  no  one  was  to  be  seen  to- 
day. But  not  a  feature  changed ;  he  was  still 
calm  and  grave.  With  a  gentle  nod  he  turned 
toward  the  ministers  who  were  on  the  left,  and 
addressed  each  of  them  a  few  kind  words;  he 
then  quickly  ascended  the  steps  of  the  throne. 
Under  the  canopy,  he  turned  his  eyes  toward  the 
side  where  were  the  members  of  the  senate  and 
the  legislature. 

Napoleon's  eyes  flashed  down  the  silent  assem- 
bly with  an  expression  of  terrible  anger.  When 
he  spoke,  his  voice  rolled  like  thunder  through 
the  hall,  and  echoed  in  the  trembling  hearts  of 
those  who  were  conscious  of  their  guilt,  and  who 
hung  their  heads  under  the  outburst  of  their  sov- 
ereign's wrath.  "  Gentlemen  of  the  legislature," 
he  said,  "  you  come  to  greet  me.  I  accept  your 
greetings,  and  will  tell  you  what  you  ought  to 


hear.  You  have  it  in  your  power  to  do  mucti 
good,  and  you  have  done  nothing  but  mischief. 
Eleven-twelfths  of  you  are  patriotic,  the  rest  are 
factious.  What  do  you  hope  by  putting  your- 
selves in  opposition  ?  To  gain  possession  of 
power  ?  But  what  are  your  means  ?  Are  you 
the  representatives  of  the  people  ?  I  am.  Four 
tunes  I  have  been  invoked  by  the  nation,  and 
have  had  the  votes  of  four  millions  of  men.  I 
have  a  title  to  supreme  authority,  which  you  have? 
not.  You  are  nothing  but  the  representatives  of 
the  departments.  Your  report  is  drawn  up  with 
an  astute  and  perfidious  spirit,  of  the  effects  of 
which  you  are  well  aware.  Two  battles  lost  in 
Champagne  would  not  have  done  me  so  much  mis- 
chief. I  have  sacrificed  my  passions,  my  pride, 
my  ambition,  to  the  good  of  France.  I  was  in 
expectation  that  you  would  appreciate  my  mo- 
tives, and  not  urge  me  to  what  is  inconsistent 
with  the  honor  of  the  nation.  Far  from  that,  in 
your  report  you  mingle  irony  with  reproach  :  yon 
tell  me  that  adversity  has  given  me  salutary  coun- 
sels. How  can  you  reproach  me  with  my  misfor 
tunes?  I  have  supported  them  with  honor,  be • 
cause  I  have  received  from  nature  a  sturdy 
temper;  and  if  I  had  not  possessed  it,  I  wouk 
never  have  raised  myself  to  the  first  throne  in 
the  world.  Nevertheless,  I  have  need  of  con- 
solation, and  I  expected  it  from  you:  so  far 
from  receiving  it,  you  have  endeavored  to  de- 
preciate me ;  but  I  am  one  of  those  whom  you 
may  kill,  but  cannot  dishonor.  Is  it  by  such  re 
proaches  that  you  expect  to  restore  the  lustre 
of  the  throne  ?  What  is  the  throne  ?  Four 
pieces  of  gilded  wood,  covered  with  a  piece  of 
velvet.  The  real  throne  has  its  seat  in  the  heart 
of  the  nation.  You  cannot  separate  the  two 
without  mutual  injury ;  for  it  has  more  need  of 
me  than  I  have  of  it.  What  could  the  nation  do 
without  a  chief?  When  the  question  was,  how 
we  could  repel  the  enemy,  you  demand  institu- 
tions as  if  we  had  them  not !  Are  you  not  con- 
tent with  the  constitution  ?  If  you  are  not,  you 
should  have  told  me  so  four  years  ago,  or  post- 
poned your  demand  to  two  years  after  a  general 
peace.  Is  this  the  moment  to  insist  on  such  a 


XAPOLEOX'S  NEW-YEAR'3-DA  V. 


241 


demand  ?  You  wish  to  imitate  the  Constituent 
Assembly,  and  commence  a  revolution  ?  Be  it 
BO.  You  will  find  I  will  not  imitate  Louis  XVI.  : 
I  would  rather  abmdon  the  throne,  I  would  pre- 
f'.M-  making  part  of  the  sovereign  people,  to  being 
an  enslaved  king.  I  am  sprung  from  the  people ; 
I  know  the  obligations  I  contracted  when  I  ifl- 
cended  the  throne.  You  have  done  much  mis- 
chief; you  would  have  done  me  still  more,  if  I 
had  allowed  your  report  to  be  printed. — You 
speak  of  abuses,  of  vexations.  I  know,  as  well 
as  you,  that  such  have  exist°d  ;  they  arose  from 
circumstance,  and  the  misfortunes  of  the  times. 
But  was  it  necessary  to  let  all  Europe  into  our 
secrets  ?  Is  it  fitting  to  wash  our  dirty  linen  in 
public  ?  In  what  you  say  there  is  some  truth  and 
some  falsehood.  What,  then,  was  your  obvious 
duty  ?  To  have  confidentially  made  known  your 
grounds  of  complaint  to  mo,  by  whom  they  would 
have  been  thankfully  received.  I  do  not,  any 
more  than  roar-elves,  love  those  who  have  op- 
pressed you.  In  three  months  we  shall  have 
peace :  the  enemy  will  be  driven  from  our  terri- 
tory, or  I  shall  be  dead.  We  have  greater  re- 
sources than  you  imagine :  our  enemies  have 
never  conquered  us — never  will.  They  will  he 
pursued  over  the  frontier  more  quickly  than  they 
crossed  it.  Go  ! "  * 

The  last  word?  of  the  speech  were  still  resound- 
ing through  the  hall  when  the  deputies,  with  pale 
faces,  bowing  timidly  and  silently  before  the 
throne,  turned  and  walked  toward  the  door.  All 
eyes  were  riveted  on  them,  and  it  was  felt  that  the 
men  whom  the  emperor  dismissed  with  such  a 
strain  of  vehement  invective  were  twenty  new  ene- 
mies whom  Napoleon  sent  into  the  provinces,  and 
who  would  bring  a  new  hostile  army — public  opin- 
ion— into  the  ti« -Id  a_Min~t  him.  Many  hoped  that 
the  emperor,  perceiving  his  blunder,  would  call 
b.A'k  the  deputies  by  some  pleasant  word,  in  or- 
der to  bring  a'»ont  a  reconciliation  between  him 
and  those  who,  whatever  the  emperor  might 

!  in  the  throne-hall  the  opinion  of  the 


liucher  ct  Roux,  "  Histoire  ParL  de  Franco,"  vol. 
,  pp.  460,  46 J. 
Ifl 


But  Xapoleon  did  not  call  them  back ;  stand- 
ing on  his  throne,  haughty  anJ  defiant,  he 
looked  after  the  disappearing  deputies  in  anger ; 
and  only  when  the  door  of  the  anteroom  closed, 
did  he  turn  his  eyes  toward  those  who  surrounded 
him.  As  if  by  a  magician's  wand  his  face  re- 
sumed its  former  expression  of  august  calmness. 
He  slowly  left  the  throne,  and,  dropping  here  and 
there  a  few  condescending  words,  crossed  the 
hall.  Suddenly  he  noticed  Baron  Fontaine,  the 
architect  of  the  imperial  palaces.  "Ah,"  ex- 
claimed  Xapoleon,  quickly  advancing  toward  him, 
"you  are  here,  Fontaine?  I  intended  to  send 
for  you  to-day.  Did  you  bring  your  plans  with 
you  ?  " 

"  Yea,  sire." 

"  Well,  then,  come  ;  and  you,  ministers,  Duke 
de  Rovigo,  Duke  de  Vicenza,  Duke  de  Bassano, 
pray  follow  me  into  my  cabinet." 

The  officers  and  cavaliers  who  remained  in 
the  hall  looked  after  the  emperor  with  anxious 
glances.  "A  cabinet  meeting  on  this  holiday  1 
and  at  which  the  imperial  architect  has  to  be 
present!"  they  whispered.  "What  means  this? 
Will  the  emperor  commission  M.  de  Fontaine  to 
transform  the  Tuileries  into  a  fortress,  and  con- 
struct ramparts  and  ditches  ?  Are  we,  if  all 
should  be  lost,  to  defend  ourselves  ?  Or  will  the 
emperor  convert  Paris  into  a  fortress  ?  Is  M.  de 
Fontaine  to  erect  outworks  and  fortifications? 
Or  will  the  emperor  have  a  new  Bastile  built  for 
the  purpose  of  confining  the  traitorous  legisla- 
ture and  several  hundreds  of  these  new-fangled 
royalists  who  are  now  springing  up  like  mush- 
rooms ?  " 

But  the  emperor  did  not  think  of  all  this  when, 
followed  by  the  three  ministers  and  Baron  Fon- 
taine, he  entered  his  cabinet.  An  expression  of 
lity  overspread  his  features,  and  round  his 
lips  played  the  sunny  smile  which  appeared  so 
irresistible  to  all  who  had  ever  seen  it.  "  Come 
hither,  irentlemen,"  he  said,  merrily,  "let  us  act 
here  as  judges.  Fontaine  brings  us  plans  for  a 
palace  for  the  King  of  Rome.  It  is  high  time  for 
me  to  think  of  building  one  for  the  heir-apparent, 
and  this  idea  has  engrossed  my  mind  for  a 


242 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


long  period.  If  the  times  had  not  been  so  unfavor- 
able, it  would  already  have  been  completed.  I  will 
begin  now,  in  order  to  prove  to  the  foreign  powers 
how  great  is  the  confidence  felt  by  France  and 
her  emperor  in  their  ability  to  withstand  the  at- 
tacks of  the  allies ;  for,  while  their  armies  are 
fighting  the  enemy,  they  are  constructing  a  palace 
for  their  future  emperor. — Now  let  me  see  your 
plans,  Fontaine  ;  unroll  them  !  " 

Fontaine  spread  out  on  the  table  the  papers 
which  he  had  brought  with  him  from  the  ante- 
room. The  emperor  bent  over  them,  and  asked 
the  architect  to  explain  to  him  the  different  lines 
and  figures.  The  three  ministers  stood  beside 
them,  grave  and  silent,  and  their  furtive  glances 
seemed  to  ask  whether  this  really  was  not  a  scene 
intentionally  contrived  by  the  emperor — whether 
he  really  could  think  of  building  a  palace  for  the 
King  of  Rome  at  a  moment  when  France  was 
hemmed  in  on  all  sides,  and  menaced  by  ene- 
mies, endangering  the  existence  of  the  imperial 
throne ! 

But  Napoleon  really  seemed  to  be  quite  sincere. 
With  his  magic  energy  he  appeared  to  have  ban- 
ished all  gloomy  thoughts,  and  to  be  engrossed 
only  in  plans  for  a  serene  future.  "  See  here,  Cau- 
laincourt,"  he  said,  pointing  to  one  of  the  plans, 
"  what  do  you  think  of  this  ?  It  is  a  sort  of 
castle  or  fort,  and  looks  well,  does  it  not  ?  " 

"  Very,  indeed,"  replied  Caulaincourt.  "  It  re- 
minds me  of  the  palace  at  Oranienbaum,  which 
Paul  I.  built.  The  towers  at  the  corners,  the  bas- 
tions, and  ditches,  are  similar ;  and  the  interior 
had  not  only  many  rooms,  but  secret  staircases, 
doors,  and  hidden  passages." 

"And  yet  Paul  I.  was  assassinated  in  that 
palace !  "  cried  the  emperor,  whose  face  suddenly 
darkened.  "The  doors  and  passages  did  not 
protect  him  from  murderers. — Well,  Maret  and 
Savary,  what  do  you  think  of  it?  Do  you  deem 
it  best  that  I  should  build  the  palace  for  the  King 
of  Rome  in  the  style  of  a  fortress,  like  that  of 
Oranienbaum  ?  " 

"Sire,"  exclaimed  Savary,  eagerly,  "  so  pre- 
cious a  head  cannot  be  sufficiently  protected.  In 
building  a  palace  for  the  king,  less  attention  should 


. 


be  paid  to  an  attractive  appearance  than  to  safet; 
and  convenience." 

"Is  that  your  opinion,  too,  Maret?" 

The  Duke  de  Bassano  was  silent  for  a  moment, 
and  closely  examined  the  plan.  "  No,  sire,"  he 
then  said,  looking  at  the  emperor,  with  a  polite 
yet  somewhat  singular  smile  —  "  no,  sire.  I  bt 
lieve  we  should  avoid  the  semblance  of  a  fortress 
built  for  the  heir-apparent,  just  as  though  he 
should  ever  need  such  a  place  of  refuge  against 
his  own  subjects,  and  in  the  middle  of  his  cap- 
ital !  People  would  say  your  majesty  intended  to 
reconstruct  for  your  successor  the  old  Bastile." 

"  Maret  is  right,"  exclaimed  the  emperor.  "  No 
fortress!  The  confidence,  love,  and  attachment 
of  his  people  should  be  the  only  safeguard  of  a 
monarch.  Ramparts  did  not  save  Paul  I.  ;  the 
greatest  precautions,  locked  and  guarded  doors, 
did  not  protect  the  sultan  from  the  scimitars  of 
the  Janizaries  ;  every  one  falls  when  his  hour  has 
struck  ;  it  will  strike  for  me,  too,  and  my  life  will 
belong  to  him  who  is  willing  to  give  up  his  lire 
for  mine  !  But  I  shall  teach  my  son  to  govern 
the  Parisians  without  fortresses,  and  make  them 
love  him.  *  It  is  true,  however,  there  will  always 
be  malicious  men  to  frustrate  our  efforts,  arcl 
sow  the  seeds  of  discord  between  me  and  my 
people." 

"  Sire,"  said  Fontaine,  anxious  to  turn  the  em- 
peror's thoughts  into  a  different  channel,  "  here 
is  another  plan.  The  former  was  in  the  old  feu- 
dal style  ;  this  would  look  more  like  a  villa." 

"  That  is  the  very  thing  I  want,"  exclaimed  the 
emperor,  eagerly.  "  A  villa  in  the  grandest  pos- 
sible style  —  a  palace  magnificent  enough  to  be 
mentioned  after  the  Louvre,  but  still  with  all  the 
peculiarities  of  a  villa.  For  the  palace  of  the 
King  of  Rome,  after  all,  will  be  only  a  sort  of 
villa  in  Paris?  ;  as  a  winter  residence  the  Tuileries, 
or  the  Louvre,  would  be  preferred.  But,  though 
I  want  the  building  to  be  large  and  brilliant,  the 
total  cost  must  not  exceed  ten  million  francs.  I 
do  not  want  a  chimera,  but  something  real,  sub- 
stantial, and  practical,  for  myself  and  the  king, 


*  Napoleon's  words.—  Vide  "Memoirs  of  the 
d'Abrantes." 


THE  KING  OF  ROME. 


243 


and  not  a  fanciful  structure  merely  gratifying  to 
the  architect.  The  completion  of  the  Louvre  will 
give  glory  enough  to  the  architect.  As  to  the 
palace  of  the  King  of  Rome,  he  may  forget  his 
personal  interest,  and  think  only  of  rendering  the 
structure  as  convent  :  >le.  It  is  to  be. 

come  a  sort  of  Sans-Souci,  where  one  is  merry, 
forgets  care,  enjoys  the  sunshine  in  the  apart- 
ments, and  the  shade  in  the  garden,  and  may 
combine  the  simplicity  of  rural  life  with  the  com- 
forts of  a  great  city.  Imagine  you  were  building 
a  commodious  residence  for  a  rich  private  citizen, 
a  convalescent  who  has  need  of  comfort,  repose, 
and  diversion.  There  must  be,  therefore,  a  small 
theatre,  a  small  chapel,  a  concert-hall,  a  ball- 
room, a  billiard-room,  and  a  library ;  fish-ponds, 
and  shady  groves  in  the  garden — in  short,  a 
genuine  villa."  * 

"  I  believe  your  majesty  will  find  all  that  you 
wish  for  united  in  this,"  said  the  Duke  de  Bas- 
sano,  who  had  carefully  examined  the  second  plan. 
"  It  is  a  villa  in  grand  style,  and  surely  worthy 
of  a  great  prince." 

"  Ah,"  said  the  emperor,  with  a  profound  sigh, 
"  would  it  were  already  finished,  and  I  could  live 
ia  it  with  my  son !  I — " 

At  this  moment  the  fold  ing- doors  of  the  cab- 
inet were  thrown  open,  and  the  usher's  voice 
shouted,  "  His  majesty  the  King  of  Rome !  " 


TOE  emperor,  with  a  joyful  exclamation,  turned 
toward  the  door.  On  it?  threshold  stood  a  boy 
of  remarkable  !  Correggio  or  Mu- 

nllo  would   ha-.  !   as   a  cherub   D 

\\\<  slimier  but  vigorous  form  was  clothed  in 
shy-blue  velvet,  embroidered  with  silver,  and  his 
fairy-like  feet  wore  shoes  of  the  same  color.  II !< 
dimpled  arms  were  bare,  and  a  fleece  of  _ 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 


THE    KING   OF    ROME. 


•  Napoleon's  words.— Vide  Constant,  uM6moires,<1  vol. 
r.  p.  1>L 


ringlets  fell  on  his  f  *ir  neck  and  shoulders.  An 
ingenuousness,  undeformed  by  bad  training,  in- 
1  the  charm  of  his  natural  beauty.  There 
was  nothing  affected  in  his  blooming  face ;  and, 
wliile  a  happy  temper  played  about  his  lips,  there 
was  a  light  in  his  large  blue  eyes,  reminding  the 
beholder  of  his  great  father,  from  whom  he  also 
inherited  a  forehead  which,  when  the  attractions 
of  his  childhood  had  passed  away,  would  at  once 
assert  his  manly  gravity  and  thought. 

Behind  the  boy  appeared  the  dignified  form 
of  Madame  de  Montesquiou,  his  governess,  who 
seemed  to  take  pains  to  keep  back  the  boy,  and, 
seizing  his  hand,  hastily  whispered  a  few  words 
to  him.  But  he  forcibly  disengaged  himself,  and, 
without  noticing  any  one  but  the  emperor,  rushed 
toward  him  with  open  arms.  "  Papa,"  he  cried, 
in  an  imploring  tone — "  papa,  have  you  not  given 
me  permission  to  come  to  you  at  any  time  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sire,"  said  the  emperor,  tenderly,  lifting 
him  into  his  arm?,  "  and  the  proof  of  it  is  that 
you  are  here." 

"Well,  dear  'Quiou,"  asked  the  boy,  in  a 
triumphant  tone,  turning  toward  Madame  de 
Montesquiou — "  did  I  not  tell  you  so  ? — The 
usher  would  not  admit  me,  papa,  though  I  told 
him  I  am  the  King  of  Rome ! " 

u  He  ran  away  from  me,"  said  the  governess, 
"in  the  first  anteroom,  and  so  fast  that  I  could 
not  follow  him.1' 

"  It  was  because  I  wanted  to  see  my  dear  papa 
emperor,"  cried  the  child,  fixing  his  eyes  with 
an  expression  of  indescribable  tenderness  on  his 
father. 

"  But  that  was  the  reason,  sire,"  said  the  gov- 
erness, "  why  the  usher  would  not  immediately 
open  the  door  to  you.  He  did  not  know  whether 
he  was  allowed  to  do  so,  and  waited,  therefore, 
until  I  came." 

"  But  why  did  he  not  know  that  he  was  allowed 
to  do  so?"  cried  the  little  king,  impetuously. 
"  Did  I  not  tell  him,  « I  will  it,  I  am  the  King  of 
Rome  ? '  Pray  tell  me,  papa  emperor,  do  not  the 
ushers  obey  you  either  when  you  say,  '  I  will 
it?'" 

The  emperor  laughed  as  loudly  and  merrily  aa 


244 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


he  had  done  in  the  days  of  his  prosperity,  and 
the  ministers  and  Baron  Fontaine  joined  heartily 
in  his  mirth  ;  even  Madame  de  Montesquieu  could 
not  suppress  a  faint  smile.  The  boy  saw  it,  and 
asked  hastily,  "  Why  do  you  laugh,  'Qaiou?  Did 
I  say  any  thing  ridiculous  ?  " 

"  No,  rather  something  charming,"  said  the 
emperor,  smiling,  laying  his  hand  on  the  blond 
head  of  his  child,  and  pressing  it  closer  to  his 
breast.  With  the  child  still  in  his  arms,  he 
seated  himself  in  an  easy-chair,  and,  placing  the 
little  fair-haired  king  on  his  knee,  gazed  at  him 
with  joyful  eyes.  His  whole  countenance  was 
changed,  and  beaming  with  mildness ;  even  his 
voice  assumed  another  tone,  and  seemed  in- 
capable of  command  or  threat. 

"  Sire,"  said  the  emperor,  "  we  were  just 
speaking  of  you." 

"Ah,"  cried  the  child,  with  an  arch  smile,  "I 
know  what  it  was  !  My  papa  emperor  was  think- 
ing of  a  New-Year's  present !  " 

"But,  sire,"  exclaimed  the  governess,  sharply, 
"  it  is  unseemly  to  ask  for  presents." 

A  blush  suffused  the  child's  face,  and  seemed 
reflected  on  the  pale  cheeks  of  the  emperor,  who 
felt  almost  pained  at  seeing  him  so  much  ashamed 
of  himself. 

"  Madame,"  he  said,  turning  hastily  to  the  gov- 
erness, "  I  have  to  ask  a  favor  of  you  :  pray  leave 
the  King  of  Rome  here  with  me  for  a  time.  I 
myself  will  take  him  back  to  you,  and  I  promise 
to  watch  carefully  over  his  majesty." 

Madame  de  Montesquieu  made  a  ceremonious 
obeisance  ;  the  little  king  kissed  his  hand  to  her, 
and  she  then  left  the  cabinet.  No  sooner  had 
the  door  closed  than  the  boy,  with  a  smile,  en- 
circled the  emperor's  neck  with  his  arms,  and  cried, 
"  Now  we  are  alone,  papa  emperor  !  " 

"  Oh,  no !  "  said  the  emperor,  smiling,  "  did  you 
not  yet  see  these  gentlemen  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  the  child,  looking  round  in  sur- 
prise, "  I  saw  only  you,  papa  ! " 

Never  had  the  lips  of  the  most  beautiful 
woman  uttered  words  that  gladdened  his  heart 
go  much  as  these.  But  before  his  ministers  he 
was  almost  ashamed  of  his  sensitiveness,  and, 


therefore,  he  forced  himself  to  assume  a 
air.  "  Sire,"  he  said,  "  above  all,  you  must  greet 
these  gentlemen ;  they  are  my  ministers,  and  very 
dear  friends  of  mine." 

"  Ah,  then  they  are  friends  of  mine,  too,"  cried 
the  boy,  with  that  politeness  which  comes  from 
the  heart.  Quickly  descending  from  his  father's 
knee  to  the  carpet  on  the  floor,  the  little  King 
of  Rome  walked  several  steps  toward  the  gentle- 
men, and  bowed  so  deeply  to  them  that  his  blend 
ringlets  rolled  down  over  his  face.  "Pardon  me, 
gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  if  I  did  not  see  and  greet 
you !  I  came  to  my  papa  emperor  because  to-day 
is  a  holiday,  and  I  desired  to  wish  him  a  happy 
New- Year.  I  see  you  now,  gentlemen,  and,  if  you 
will  permit  me,  I  wish  you  all,  too,  a  happy  New- 
Year." 

The  gentlemen  bowed,  and  looked  with  an  ex- 
pression of  gentle  sympathy  and  emotion  on  the 
lovely  child,  as  if  imploring  the  blessing  of 
Heaven  upon  him.  The  emperor  probably  read 
this  in  their  eyes,  for  he  greeted  the  gentlemea 
with  a  pleasant  smile,  and  nodded  to  them  with 
the  triumphant  air  of  a  happy  father. 

"Papa  emperor,"  exclaimed  the  child,  turning 
once  more  to  his  father,  "  my  dear  Madame  'Quicu 
says  that  France  has  now  need  of  prosperity,  ar  d 
that  I,  therefore,  ought  to  pray  the  good  God  U) 
grant  us  His  favor." 

"  Well,  and  did  you  do  so  ?  "  inquired  the  em- 
peror. 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  child,  "  I  did,  from  the  bot- 
tom of  my  heart." 

"  How  did  you  pray  ?  Let  me  hear,  sire ;  it 
can  do  no  harm  if  you  pray  to  God  once  more  to 
grant  us  His  favor.  What  did  you  say  ?  " 

The  child  assumed  a  grave  air,  and  knelt  down. 
He  then  raised  his  clasped  hands,  and,  leaning 
back  his  head,  lifted  up  his  large  blue  eyes. 
"  Good  God,"  he  said  aloud,  "  I  pray  to  Thee  for 
France  and  for  my  father ! " 

These  words,  uttered  in  so  clear  and  melodious 
a  voice,  sounding  like  an  angel's  greeting  in  the 
solemn  cabinet  of  the  emperor,  made  a  wonder- 
ful impression.  The  gentlemen  averted  their 
heads,  to  conceal  their  emotion  from  Napoleon. 


"  Gooc.  (Jud,  I  pray  to  Thee  for  France  and  for  my  father." 


THE  KING   OF   ROME. 


245 


But  he  paid  no  attention  to  them  ;  his  eyes  r 
on  his  child  with  an  expression  of  profound  affec- 
tion ;  a  veil  seemed  to  overspread  them,  and  as 
it  perhaps  prevented  the  emperor  from  seeing  his 
kneeling  child  distinctly,  he  quickly  moved  his 
hand  across  his  eyes.  The  veil  disappeared,  but 
the  hand  that  had  drawn  it  aside  was  moist. 

The  boy  jumped  up  and  hastened  back  to  his 
father,  who  clasped  him  tenderly  in  his  arms,  and 
then,  as  if  to  apologize,  turned  toward  his  minis- 
ters. "  Well,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  gayly,  "  do 
you  believe  that  the  voice  of  the  King  of  Rome 
is  strong  enough  to  reach  to  heaven,  and  bring 
prosperity  to  France  and  to  myself?" 

"  Sire,  I  do,"  said  the  Duke  de  Bassano,  in  a 
trembling  voice. 

"  And  I  feel  convinced  of  it,"  said  the  Duke 
de  Rovigo.  "  If  any  prayer  can  reach  heaven, 
this  in 

"  It  will  bless  France  and  her  august  emperor," 
raid  the  Duke  de  Vicenza,  "  Sire,  permit  me  to 
ask  a  favor  of  you.  Give  to  France  as  a  Xew- 
Year's  present  of  your  love,  the  picture  of  the 
King  of  Rome  praying  for  France  and  his  father. 
Your  majesty,  send  for  Isabey,  and  have  him 
resent  the  king  in  this  charming  attitude.  He 
will  paint  such  a  picture  both  with  his  hand  and 
his  heart,  and  within  a  month  it  must  be  circu- 
d  as  A  copperplate  throughout  France.  Sire, 
venture  to  assert  that  this  engraving  will  win 
all  hearts,  and  the  members  of  the  legislature 
cannot  excite  half  as  much  hatred  in  the  prov- 
inces as  this  picture  will  produce  love." 

"You  are  right,"  said  the  emperor,  "  that  is  an 
;cellent  idea.     France  shall  learn  that  my  son 
i  for  it,  and  then  for  me. — Mnret,  see 
it  that  Isabey  come  to-morrow.      The  plate 
<t  be  ready  for  distribution  in  the  course  of  a 
nth.*     And  now,"  added  the  emperor,  putting 
child  again  on  his  knee,  "now  tell  m- 
you   want   me  to  give  you  as  a   ' 

nt  ?  " 
Oh,"  cried  the  little  king,  smilincr,  "  I  know 


::, 


s 


•  This  copperplate  really  appeared  shortly  after ;  it  Is 
iweet  and  beautLtil  portrait  of  the  little  King  of  Rome. 


something,  dear  papa  emperor,  but  I  dare  not 
say  what  it  i#." 

"  Ah,  you  may,"  said  the  emperor.  "  I  pledge 
you  my  word  that  I  will  fulfil  your  wish,  if  it  be 
possible.  Speak,  then." 

"  Sire,"  asked  little  Xapoleon,  nodding  toward 
the  ministers,  "  sire,  will  these  gentlemen  not  be- 
tray me  to  Madame  de  Montesquiou  ?  " 

"I  warrant  you  they  will  not,"  said  the  em- 
peror, gravely.  "Let  me  hear  what  you  want." 

"  Well,  then,  papa  emperor,"  said  the  boy, 
leaning  his  head  on  his  father's  breast,  and 
looking  up  to  him,  "I  feel  a  great  wish  that  I 
could  run  just  once  all  alone  into  the  street,  and 
play  in  the  mud  and  the  gutter,  as  other  children 
do."  * 

The  emperor  burst  into  loud  laughter,  in  which 
the  others  did  not  fail  to  join.  "  Ah,  you  see, 
gentlemen,"  exclaimed  the  emperor,  "  this  is  a 
new  rendering  of  Lafontaine's  celebrated  •  Tou- 
jours  pcrdrix  ! '  The  King  of  Rome,  being  able 
to  command  all  that  is  beautiful  and  agreeable  to 
his  heart's  content,  is  longing  for  the  gutter. — Be 
patient,  sire,  I  cannot  immediately  fulfil  your 
wish,  but  I  shall  have  a  palace  for  you,  and  in  its 
court-yard  you  shall  have  a  gutter,  too.  Sire, 
look  at  those  plans  which  Baron  Fontaine  has 
drawn  up  for  a  palace  destined  for  you  alone." 

"  What !  For  me  alone  ? "  asked  the  child, 
in  dismay.  "  You  will  not  live  with  me  hi  the 
palace  ?  " 

"  No,  sire.  The  King  of  Rome  must  have  a 
palace  of  his  own,  where  he  will  reside  with  his 
court" 

"  Papa  emperor,  I  thank  you  for  your  New- 
Year's  gift,"  said  the  boy,  sullenly;  "I  thank  you, 
but  do  not  accept  it.  I  do  not  want  a  palace  of 
my  own.  I  thank  your  majesty,  but  prefer  remain 
ing  at  the  Tuileries." 

"  But,  sire,  just  think  of  it — a  splendid  palace 
Dg  to  you  ;i 

"  I  do  not  want  to  live  alone !  " 

"  Well,  sire,  then  you  will  request  your  beauti. 


*  Bausset,  "  Memulres  sur  Interieur  da  Palais  Inap6 
rial,"  vol.  1L 


246 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


ful  mother,  the  empress,  to  live  with  you.  Will 
that  be  sufficient  ?  " 

The  boy  glanced  quickly  and  anxiously  around 
the  room,  as  if  to  satisfy  himself  that  neither  the 
empress  nor  Madame  de  Montesquieu  was  present; 
he  then  threw  both  his  arms  round  the  emperor's 
neck,  and  exclaimed,  "  I  want  to  be  where  you 
are,  papa ! " 

Napoleon  pressed  his  lips  with  passionate  ten- 
derness on  his  son's  head.  "  Well,  sire,"  he  said, 
in  a  voice  tremulous  with  love,  "I  believe  your 
wishes  will  have  to  be  complied  with.  As  soon 
as  your  palace  is  completed  I  shall  live  with  you. 
Do  you  accept  your  palace  on  this  condition  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  dear  papa  emperor,"  exclaimed  the 
prince,  joyously,  "  now  I  accept  it,  and  thank  you 
for  it." 

"  Well,  you  hear  that,  Fontaine,"  said  Napoleon, 
turning  toward  his  architect.  "  You  may  begin 
the  construction  of  the  palace  ;  the  King  of  Home 
accepts  it.  I  sanction  this  second  plan.  Build 
a  magnificent  villa,  and  it  must  be  completed  in 
two  years.  In  two  years — " 

Suddenly  the  emperor  paused,  and  his  face  dark- 
ened. "  Ah,"  he  said,  gloomily,  putting  his  hand 
on  the  prince's  head,  "ah,  we  purpose  building 
you  a  palace,  but  if  they  conquer  me  you  will  not 
even  possess  a  cabin  ! "  *  The  emperor's  head 
dropped  on  his  breast,  und  a  pause  ensued, 
which  the  child,  usually  so  vivacious,  did  not  ven- 
ture to  interrupt. 

At  length  Napoleon  said :  u  Go,  Fontaine,  and 
take  your  plans  along;  1  will  confer  further  about 
the  matter.  And  you,  ministers,  come,  we  have 
to  settle  some  questions  of  importance.  But, 
first,  I  must  take  the  king  back  to  his  governess." 

The  boy  clung  with  almost  anxious  tenderness 
to  his  father.  "  Ah,  dear,  dear  papa  emperor," 
he  begged,  "  let  me  stay  here !  I  will  be  quiet — oh, 
so  very  quiet !  I  will  only  sit  on  your  knee,  lean 
my  head  on  your  breast,  and  not  disturb  you  at 
nil." 

"  Well,  you    may  stay   then,"    said   Napoleon. 


*  Napoleon's  words.— Vide  "  Memoirs  of  the  Duchess 
d'Abrantes.1" 


: 


ace 

: 


"We  shall  see  whether  you  really  can  be  qui 
and  not  disturb  us." 

The  little  child  kept  his  word.  Sitting  quietly 
on  the  emperor's  knee,  and  leaning  his  little  head 
on  his  father's  breast,  he  did  not  interrupt  in  the 
least  the  important  conference  of  Napoleon  and 
his  ministers.  An  hour  afterward  the  conference 
was  over,  and  the  dukes  were  dismissed. 

"  Now,  sire,"  said  Napoleon,  turning  toward 
child,  "  now  let  us  play." 

But  the  little  king,  who  always  received  these 
words  with  exultation,  remained  silent,  and  when 
the  emperor  bent  over  him,  he  saw  that  he  had 
fallen  asleep.  "  Happy  king !  "  murmured  Napo- 
leon, "happy  king!  who  can  fall  asleep  in  the 
midst  of  state  business !  "  Softly  and  cautiously 
drawing  the  boy  closer  to  his  breast,  and  taking 
pains  not  to  disturb  his  slumber,  he  sat  still 
and  motionless,  scarcely  breathing,  although  sad 
thoughts  oppressed  his  mind.  It  was  an  inter- 
esting spectacle — this  lovely  boy  leaning  his  head 
in  smiling  dreams  on  the  breast  of  his  father, 
who  was  looking  down  on  him  with  grave  and 
tender  eyes. 

The  emperor  sat  thus  a  long  time.  Strange 
and  wonderful  thoughts  stole  upon  him — though  s 
of  past  happiness,  of  past  love.  He  thought  of 
how  long  he  had  yearned  to  possess  a  son,  arid 
how  many  tears  his  first  consort  shed — how  ar- 
dently he  had  been  loved  by  the  noble  and  beau- 
tiful Josephine,  whom,  in  his  pride,  which  de- 
manded an  heir-apparent,  he  had  thrust  into 
solitude.  Providence  had  given  Bonaparte  all 
that  his  heart  had  longed  for — a  beautiful  young 
wife,  who  loved  him,  and  who  was  the  daughter 
of  an  emperor ;  and  a  sweet,  lovely  child  that  was 
to  be  the  heir  of  his  imperial  throne.  But  Provi- 
dence, by  giving  him  all,  had  taken  all  from 
Josephine — the  heart  and  hand  of  her  husband, 
her  dignity  and  authority  as  an  empress  and  sov- 
ereign. She  was  now  nothing  but  a  deserted  and 
unhappy  lady,  who  had  only  tears  for  her  past, 
no  joy  in  the  present,  no  hopes  for  the  future. 

All  this  was  on  account  of  the  child  adored  by 
his  father,  and  hailed  by  France ;  and  yet,  de 
spite  all  the  mischief  this  little  boy  had  done  her 


THE   KING  OF   ROME. 


247 


and  the  fact  that  he  was  the  child  of  another 
womari,  Josephine  loved  him,  and  often  im- 
plored the  emperor  to  let  her  see  and  embrace  the 
little  King  of  Rome.  He  had  always  refused  to 
grant  this  request,  in  order  not  to  stir  up  the  jeal- 
ousy of  his  young  wife,  but,  at  this  quiet  hour, 
when  he  was  alone  with  his  sleeping  child,  Napo- 
leon  thought  of  Josephine  with  melancholy  ten- 
derness. Amid  the  profound  silence  which  sur- 
rounded him,  his  recollections  spoke  to  him. 
They  pointed  him  to  Josephine  in  the  imperish- 
able splendor  of  her  love,  her  grace,  and  good- 
ness ;  he  thought  he  saw  her  sweet  lips,  which 
had  always  a  smile  for  him ;  her  brilliant  eyes, 
which  had  ever  looked  tenderly  on  him,  and  which 
had  learned  to  read  his  most  secret  thoughts. 

"  Poor  Josephine  !"  he  murmured,  "  poor  Jose- 
phine !  she  loved  me  ardently,  and  many  things 
might  be  different  now  if  she  were  still  by  my  side. 
She  was  my  guardian  angel,  and  with  her  my  suc- 
cess haa  departed.  She  sacrificed  her  happiness 
to  me  and  my  ambition ;  and  while  formerly  all 
hastened  to  offer  their  congratulations  on  this  day 
and  pay  homage  to  the  empress,  she  now  sits  lonely 
and  deserted  at  Malmaison. — No,"  he  then  said 
aloud,  "no,  she  shall  not  be  lonely  and  deserted  ! 
I  surely  owe  it  to  her  to  occasion  her  a  moment 
of  joy.  She  shall  see  my  son — I  myself  will  take 
him  to  her."  He  cautiously  lifted  up  the  boy  in 
his  arms  and  rose.  The  prince  awoke  and  looked 
imly  up  to  his  father,  who  carried  him  to  the 
and  laid  him  with  ten.lcr  care  on  the  cush- 
But  little  Napoleon  jumped  up,  and  said 
ghingly  :  "  I  am  no  longer  tired.  The  duL 

now,  and  let  u.s  play,  papa  ! " 
"No,  sire,"  said  the  emperor,  "  not  now,  I  have 
to  attend  to.     But  listen  to  me  :  at  noon 
ay  I  will  take  a  ride  with  you,  all  alone — that 
to  be  my  N»-\v -Year's  present." 
The  boy  uttered  a  cry  of  joy.    "  All  alone,  papa 
p«ror?    Oh,  that  will  be  splendid  !" 
"  But  now  go  to  Madame  de  Montesqui.. 
said  the  emperor. — "Constant!"    When  the  VA- 
let  de  chambre    entered    the   room,  he   ordered 
Constant,  "  Pray  conduct  his  m:ijesty  the  !•• 
Rome  to  Madame  de  Moutesquiou,  and  tell  her  I 


- 


shall  call  for  him  in  a  few  hours  in  order  to  take  a 
ride  with  him  alone,  without  any  attendants  what- 
ever.— Adieu,  Sire,  in  a  few  hours  we  shall  meet 
again." 

But  the  boy  stood  and  looked  at  the  emperor 

ith  grave  and  sullen  glances.     "  Sire,"  he  said, 

my  dear  Madame  'Quiou  tells  me  often  a  king 

ought  to  keep  his  word.     Now  I  ask  you  must  an 

emperor  not  keep  his  word  also  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  sire  ! " 

"  Well,  then,  your  majesty,  take  me  to  Madame 
'Quiou,"  cried  the  boy,  joyously  ;  %<  you  told  her 
you  would  do  so.  Come,  papa !  " 

"Ah,"  exclaimed  the  emperor,  smiling,  "you 
are  right— an  emperor  must  fulfil  his  word, 
though  he  has  pledged  it  only  to  a  king.  Come, 
sire,  I  will  conduct  you  to  Madame  de  Montesquieu. 
Constant,  await  me  here !  " 

A  lew  minutes  afterward,  the  emperor  returned 
to  his  cabinet  "  Constant,"  he  said,  in  a  low 
voice,  "  I  know  you  loved  the  Empress  Josephine, 
and  have  not  forgotten  her,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"Sire,  the  empress  was  my  benefactress ;  I  owe 
to  her  all  that  I  am,  and  she  was  always  kind 
to  me." 

"  More  so  than  the  present  empress,  you  mean 
to  say  ?  "  asked  the  emperor,  casting  a  searching 
glance  on  his  vale*  de  chambre ;  and,  as  Constant 
was  silent,  NapoXeon  added,  "  It  is  true,  the  young 
empress  is  less  condescending  than  my  first  con- 
sort. But  that  is,  Constant,  because  she  was 
brought  up  as  the  daughter  of  an  emperor,  and 
her  feelings  were  restrained  by  the  narrow 
limits  of  etiquette.  Josephine  forgot  too  much 
that  she  was  an  empress,  Maria  Louisa  forgets  it 
too  little;  but  her  heart  is  good  and  gentle,  and 
she  would  never  wish  to  grieve  me.  So,  Constant, 
you  have  not  yet  forgotten  the  Empress  Jose- 
phine ?  " 

-ire,  none  that  ever  knew  the  Empress  Jose- 
phine could  help  remembering  her.  For  ray  own 
p.irt,  I  ean  never  forget  her." 

\  i,  what  zfripoti  you  are,  to  give  me  such  a 

reply !   Well,  I  will  prove  to  you,  M.  Fripon,  that 

I  have  not  forgotten  Josephine,  either.     This  ia 

Would   you  not  like  to  offer 


248 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


your  congratulations  to  the  Empress  Josephine 
at  Malmaison  ?  " 

"  Sire,  if  so  liumble  and  low  a  servant  as  I  am 
may  dare,  I  should  certainly  be  very  happy  to  lay 
my  congratulations  at  her  feet." 

"  Go,  I  permit  you  to  do  so,  and  the  empress  will 
Burely  receive  you  very  kindly." 

"  Particularly,  sire,  if  I  had  a  message  from 
his  majesty  the  emperor  to  deliver." 

"  Fripon,  I  believe  you  take  the  liberty  of  guess- 
ing my  thoughts  !  Yes,  I  will  give  you  a  message. 
Hasten  to  the  Empress  Josephine,  take  her  my 
greetings,  but  see  that  the  empress  receives  you 
without  witnesses. — Do  you  hear,  Constant — with 
out  witnesses  ?  Then  tell  her  to  have  her  carriage 
immediately  brought  to  the  door,  and,  on  the  pre- 
text of  being  alone  with  her  mournful  New-Year's 
meditations,  to  take  a  ride  without  attendants. 
But  when  she  is  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
Malmaison,  she  is  to  order  the  coachman  to  drive 
to  the  little  castle  of  La  Bagatelle.  She  must  be 
there  precisely  at  four  o'clock.  I  shall  be  there, 
and  tell  her  majesty  I  shall  not  come  alone.  Now 
make  baste,  Constant !  Recommend  entire  reti- 
cence to  the  empress.  As  to  yourself,  pray  do 
not  forget  that,  if  any  one  shall  hear  of  this  affair, 
you  must  be  held  responsible.  Go ! " 


(JHAPTEK    XLIV. 

JOSEPHINE. 

JUST  as  the  clock  struck  four,  the  carriage  of 
the  Empress  Josephine  wheeled  into  the  court- 
yard of  the  little  castle  of  La  Bagatelle.  She  in- 
quired of  the  castellan,  in  a  tremulous  voice, 
whether  any  one  had  arrived  there,  and  she 
breathed  more  freely  when  he  replied  in  the 
negative.  She  left  the  carriage  with  youthful 
alacrity  and  entered  the  castle,  followed  by  the 
castellan,  who  gazed  in  amazement  at  this  em- 
press without  court  or  suite,  who  arrived  stealth- 
ily and  tremblingly,  like  a  maiden  to  meet  her 
vover  for  the  first  time.  She  hurried  through  the 


well-known  apartments  of  the  castle,  and  entered 
the  hall  in  which,  during  the  days  of  her  happi- 
ness, she  had  so  often  received  the  foreign  princes 
and  ambassadors,  or  the  dignitaries  of  France. 
The  hall  was  now  empty ;  no  one  was  there  to 
receive  the  deserted  empress  ;  but  bright,  merry 
fires  were  burning  in  the  fireplaces,  and  every 
thing  was  in  readiness  for  the  reception  of  distin- 
guished guests. 

"  You  knew,  then,  that  I  was  to  come  ?  "  in- 
quired the  empress  of  the  castellan. 

"  Your  majesty,"  he  replied,  in  a  low  and  rev- 
erential voice,  "  M.  Constant  was  here,  and  gave 
orders  to  have  the  rooms  in  readiness.  If  your 
majesty  wishes  refreshments,  you  will  find  every 
thing  served  up  in  the  dining-room." 

"No,  no,  I  thank  you,"  cried  the  empress,  has- 
tily. "  But  tell  me  is  my  dressing-room — my  for- 
mer dressing-room,"  she  corrected  herself  falter- 
ingly— "is  that  heated,  too  ?  " 

"  Your  majesty  will  find  all  your  rooms  com- 
fortable, just  as  though  you  still  condescended  to 
reside  here." 

"  Well,  then,  I  will  go  to  that  room.  If  an? 
one  comes,  I  shall  notice  it  through  the  opened 
doors  ;  it  is  unnecessary  for  you  to  inform  me  ;  I 
will  go  then  at  once  to  the  reception-room." 

The  castellan  withdrew,  and  Josephine  hastened 
through  the  adjoining  apartment  into  the  dress- 
ing-room. With  a  long,  painful  sigh  she  glanced 
around  the  room  which  had  so  often  witnessed 
her  happiness  and  her  triumphs.  Here,  surround- 
ed by  her  ladies  in  front  of  this  mirror,  she  had 
had  her  hair  dressed,  and  the  emperor  had  almost 
always  made  his  appearance  at  that  hour  to  chat 
with  her,  look  at  her  toilet,  and  delight  her  heart 
by  a  smile,  a  glance,  that  was  more  transporting 
to  her  than  all  the  homage  and  flattery  paid  her 
by  all  her  other  admirers.  Now  she  was  here 
again,  but  alone,  and  with  a  mournful  sigh  she 
stepped  to  the  mirror  which  had  so  often  reflected 
her  charming  portrait,  radiant  with  happiness,  and 
sparkling  with  diamonds. 

And  what  did  she  see  new  in  this  mirror  ?  A 
woman  with  a  pale,  grief-stricken  face,  features 
growing  old,  and  a  desponding  exhaustion  which 


JOSEPHINE. 


249 


only  a  good  and  pleasant  life  can  disguise  when 
the  vigor  of  youth  has  faded. 

"  Oh,  I  have  become  old  !  "  sighed  Josephine  ; 
"  the  years  of  tears  and  solitude  count  double,  for 
one  consumes  then  in  days  the  strength  of  many 
years.  I  have  grown  old  because  I  have  wept 
foi  Ae'w,  and  because  I  have  felt  his  misfortunes. 
Oh,  how  will  he  look  ?  Will  his  cheeks  be  even 
paler  and  his  eyes  gloomier  than  formerly  ?  I 
have  no!  seen  him  since  his  return  from  his  dis- 
astrous campaign  ;  if  I  read  the  history  of  his 
sufferings  on  his  face,  my  grief  will  kill  me.  But 
no,"  she  encouraged  herself,  "I  will  not  weep, 
nor  trouble  him  with  my  tears.  I  will  be  serene, 
and  suppress  my  emotions.  He  will  not  come 
alone ;  but  whom  will  he  bring  with  him  ?  I  hope 
not  the  woman  who  is  my  rival — to  whom  I  had 
to  yield  my  throne  ! — No,  I  know  Bonaparte's 
heart,  I  know  that  he  would  be  incapable  of  such 
cruelty.  She,  young,  beautiful,  the  reigning  em- 
press—I, old,  sorrowful,  faded,  the  deserted  em- 
press !  I — ah,  there  is  a  carriage  rolling  into  the 
court-yard  !  He  comes  ! "  Her  whole  form  trem- 
aud,  breathless,  her  face  suffused  with  deep 
ie?,  she  sank  into  an  easy-chair.  "  I  love  him 
, '  she  murmured ;  "  my  heart  does  not  for- 
get ! "  A  low  knocking  at  the  small  side-door 
leading  to  the  inner  corridor,  was  heard,  and 
Constant  entered.  Josephine  rose  hastily,  and 
with  quivering  lips  asked,  "  Constant,  is  he 
there?" 

"  Yes,  your   mnjesty.     The  emperor  requests 
to  repair  to  the  reception -room.     He  will  be 
in  a  moment." 

"  And  who  is  accompanying  him  ?  " 

.missioned  me  to  tell  you 

that  it  would  afford  him  great  satisfaction  to  pre- 
pare a  1'r  ,  and  that  he 
has,  therefore,  t'ulttllrd  a  wish  which  you  have  felt 
for  a  long  time.'' 

"Con  -Josephine,  joyfully, 

the  emperor  !\inz  of  Rome  to  nu-  :  " 

~ty." 

"  Ah,  Jicr  child  ! "  cried  the  empress,  with  an 
on  of    jealousy,   burying    her   face    in    her 


r, 

a+:n  ' 


you  t 
.Here 


"  The  emperor  requests  your  majesty  to  be  so 
gracious  as  not  to  let  the  little  king  suspect 
whom  he  has  the  honor  to  approach,"  whispere  1 
Constant. 

"  Ah,  she  is  not  to  suspect  that  her  child  has 
come  to  me  !  "  murmured  Josephine,  while  fresh 
tears  trickled  down  her  cheeks. 

"  The  emperor,  besides,  implores  your  majesty 
not  to  frighten  the  prince  by  a  sadness  which 
your  majesty,  in  the  generosity  and  kindness  of 
your  heart,  has  so  often  overcome." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  empress,  removing  her  hands 
from  her  face,  and  hastily  drying  her  tears  with 
her  handkerchief,  "  I  will  not  weep.  It  is  true,  I 
have  often  begged  that  I  might  fee  the  King  of 
Rome — the  child  for  whom  I  have  suffered  so 
much,  and  to  read  in  his  face  whether  he  is  wor- 
thy of  my  sacrifice.  The  emperor  is  so  kind  as 
to  fulfil  my  wish ;  tell  him  that  I  am  profoundly 
grateful  to  him,  that  I  will  restrain  my  emotion 
and  not  make  the  prince  suspect  who  I  am.  Tell 
him  that  I  shall  not  weep  when  I  see  the  child  of 
the  present  empress.  No,  do  not  tell  him  that, 
Constant ;  it  would  grieve  him — tell  him  only 
that  I  thank  him,  and  that  he  shall  not  be  dis- 
pleased with  me.  Go  !  I  am  ready,  and  shall  be 
happy  to  ?ee  the  boy.  It  is  not  her  child,  but  hit 
that  I  am  to  embrace."  And  greeting  Constant 
with  that  inimitable  smile  of  grace  and  kindness 
peculiar  to  her,  she  walked  toward  the  reception- 
room.  "  How  my  heart  throbs ! "  she  murmured ; 
"  it  is  as  if  my  limbs  were  failing  me — as  if  I 
should  die."  Nearly  fainting,  she  slowly  glided 
through  the  adjoining  apartment,  and  entered  the 
reception-room.  "Courage,  my  heart!  for  it  is 
hi*  child  that  I  am  to  greet."  Sitting  down  on 
an  easy-chair  near  the  window,  she  looked  in 
anxiety  and  suspense  toward  the  large  folding- 
doors. 

h  the  emperor  appeared.  Josephine 
had  not  seen  him  for  nearly  a  year,  and  at  first 
yes  beheld  only  him.  She  read  in  his  pal- 
lid and  furrowed  face  the  secret  history  of  his 
sorrows,  which  he  had  not,  perhaps,  communi- 
cated to  any  one,  but  which  he  could  not  conceal 
from  the  eye  of  love.  Unutterable  sympathy  and 


250 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


tender  compassion  for  him  filled  her  soul.  And 
now  she  almost  timidly  looked  upon  the  child 
that  Napoleon  led  by  the  hand. 

How  charming  was  this  child  !  How  proud  of 
him  was  his  father !  Josephine  felt  this,  and  she 
said  almost  exultingly  to  herself:  "I  have  not 
been  sacrificed  in  vain  !  This  child  is  an  ample 
indemnity  for  my  tears.  I  am  the  boy's  real 
mother,  for  I  have  suffered,  sorrowed,  and  prayed 
for  him  !  "  Rejoicing  in  this  sentiment,  which 
seemed  to  restore  the  beauty  of  former  days, 
Josephine  stretched  out  her  arms  toward  the 
child. 

"  Go,  my  son,  and  embrace  the  lady,"  said  Na- 
poleon, dropping  the  hand  of  the  prince.  He  ad- 
vanced, while  his  father  stood  at  the  table  in  the 
middle  of  the  room,  supporting  his  right  hand  on 
the  marble  slab.  He  looked  gravely  but  kindly 
upon  the  empress,  from  whom  he  felt  separated, 
by  the  presence  of  his  child,  as  by  an  impassable 
gulf. 

The  little  prince  offered  his  band  to  the  em- 
press with  a  smile,  and  Josephine  drew  him  into 
her  arms,  pressing  his  head  to  her  bosom.  A 
sigh,  in  spite  of  herself,  came  from  the  depths  of 
her  heart.  She  slowly  bent  back  the  boy's  head 
and  gazed  at  him  with  a  mournful  but  loving  ex- 
pression. Then  her  glance  fell  upon  the  emperor, 
and,  with  an  indescribable  look  of  love  and  ten- 
derness, she  said:  "Sire,  he  is  like  you;  God 
bless  him  for  it ! " 

There  was  something  so  touching  and  heart- 
felt in  these  words — in  the  tone  of  her  voice,  and 
the  glance  of  her  eyes,  that  the  emperor  was  pro- 
foundly moved,  and  responded  only  by  a  silent 
nod,  not  venturing  to  speak  lest  the  tremor  of  his 
words  should  betray  his  emotion.  Even  the  little 
king  seemed  to  understand  the  excellent  heart  of 
this  lady.  He  clung  to  her  and  said  in  a  sweet 
voice,  "  I  love  you,  ma  dame,  and  want  you  to  love 
me,  too ! " 

"  I  love  you,  sire,"  cried  Josephine,  "  and  shall 
pray  God  every  day  to  preserve  you  to  your 
father — to  your  parents,"  she  corrected  herself 
with  the  self-abnegation  of  a  true  woman.  "  You 
will  one  day  confer  happiness  on  France  and  your 


people,  for  you  undoubtedly  wish  to  become  aa 
good,  great,  and  wise,  as  your  father." 

"  Oh,  yes,  my  papa  emperor  is  very  good,  and 
I  love  him  dearly  ! "  exclaimed  the  boy,  looking 
toward  his  father.  "  But,  papa,  why  do  you  not 
come  to  us  ?  Why  do  you  not  shake  hands  with 
this  dear  lady,  who  is  so  good  and  loves  me  so 
well  ?  " 

"  The  emperor  is  generous,"  paid  Josephine, 
gently ;  "  he  wished  me  to  have  you  a  moment 
by  yourself,  sire ;  he  has  you  every  day,  but  I 
have  never  had  you  before." 

"  Why  did  you  not  come  and  see  me  ?  "  asked 
the  child.  "You  live  near  Paris;  and,  if  yoa 
loved  me,  you  would  often  come  and  see  how  the 
little  King  of  Rome  is  getting  on.  The  emperor 
told  me  you  were  a  dear  and  kind-hearted  lady, 
and  that  every  one  loved  you." 

"  Did  he  tell  you  so,  sire  ?  "  exclaimed  the  em- 
press, drawing  the  boy  into  her  arms.  "  Oh, 
tell  the  emperor  that  I  shall  always  be  grateful 
to  him  for  it,  and  that  these  words  will  forever 
silence  my  grief."  Her  eyes  glanced  m  gratituc  c 
to  the  emperor,  who  softly  laid  his  finger  on  h  s 
mouth,  to  admonish  her  to  be  silent  and  calm. 

The  little  prince  had  now,  with  the  facility  with 
which  children  pass  from  one  subject  to  another, 
turned  his  attention  to  the  large  diamond  brooch 
fastened  to  Josephine's  golden  sash.  "  How 
beautiful  it  is ! "  he  exclaimed — "  how  it  is  flash- 
ing as  though  it  were  a  star  fallen  from  heaven, 
and  fastened  to  your  breast,  because  it  loves 
you,  madame,  and  because  you  are  so  good ! 
And  what  fine  ornaments  youv  have  on  your 
watch  !  Ah,  look  here,  papa  emperor ;  see 
these  pretty  things!  Come,  papa,  and  look  at 
them  ! " 

"No,  sire,"  said  the  emperor,  with  a  strange 
and  mournful  smile,  "  let  me  remain  here.  I  can 
see  all  those  pretty  things  quite  distinctly." 

"  They  are  very  beautiful,  are  they  not  ?  "  cried 
the  child.  "  And  if—" 

.    "Well,  sire,"  asked  Josephine,  "why  do  you 
pause  ?     Pray  speak  ! " 

The  boy  had  suddenly  assumed  a  grave  air, 
and  gazed  upon  the  ornaments  of  the  empress. 


TALLEYRAND. 


251 


I  was  just  thinking — but  you  will  be  angry  if 
.  tell  you  what,  madame." 

"  Certainly  not,  sire ;  tell  me  what  you  thought." 

"  It  occurred  to  my  mind  tliat  we  met  in  the 
forest  on  our  way  a  poor  man  who  looked  hag- 
gard and  wretched,  and  begged  us  to  give  him 
Bomething.  But  papa  and  I  could  not,  for  we 
had  already  distributed  all  our  money  among  the 
unfortunate  persons  whom  we  had  previously  met. 
Why  are  there  so  many  poor  people,  madame  ? — 
why  does  my  papa  emperor  not  order  all  men  to 
be  happy  and  rich  ?  " 

"Because  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  do  so, 
Eire,"  said  Josephine. 

"And  because,  in  order  to  be  able  to  make 
others  happy,  we  must  ourselves  be  rich ! "  ex- 
claimed the  emperor,  smiling.  "Xo\v  you  said 
yourself,  sire,  we  could  not  give  the  poor  man  in 
the  forest  any  thing,  for  \ve  bad  nothing  to  give 
him." 

"Yes,  and  I  was  very  sorry,"  said  the  boy. 
"  And  now  I  was  thinking  if  we  sent  for  the  poor 
man,  and  you,  madame,  gave  him  your  watch 
and  your  diamonds,  and  he  sold  them,  he  would 
have  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  be  very  rich  and 
happy." 

Josephine  pressed  the  boy  tenderly  to  her 
"  Sire,"  she  said,  "  I  promise  you  that  I 
will  send  for  your  poor  man  and  give  him  so  much 
money  that  he  will  never  again  be  wretched." 

"Oh!"  exclaimed  the  prince,  encircling  the 
lady's  neck  with  his  arms,  "  how  good  you  are, 
madame,  and  how  I  love  you  ! " 

Josephine  pressed  his  head  to  her  bosom.  "  Oh, 
you  may  certainly  love  me  a  little,"  she  replied, 
with  a  touching  smilo  ;  "  I  have  n -ally  deserved  it 
of  you." 

"Sire,"  said  the  emperor,  advancing  a  few 
steps,  "now  bid  the  lady  farewell.  We  must 

i!"  mrd  the  boy,  joyou.-ly— "  papa,  we 
must  take  the  dear  lady  with  us ;  she  is  so  good, 
and  I  love  li  K  live  with  us  in  the  Tuil- 

cries,  and  al\va)=i  stay  with  us.  I  want  her  to  do 
BO,  and  you,  too,  papa,  do  you  not  ?  " 

Josephine's    eyes   filled   with   tears,    and    she 


Jos- 

L« 


looked  at  the  emperbr  with  an  expression  of  un- 
utterable woe.  He  immediately  averted  his  face, 
perhaps  to  prevent  Josephine  from  noticing  his 
emotion.  "  Come,  sire,"  he  said  imperiously,  "  it 
is  high  lime ;  it  is  growing  dark.  Take  leave  of 
madame ! " 

"  Oh,  no ;  I  will  not  take  leave  of  her  !  "  cried 
the  boy,  vehemently.  "I  say  to  her  rather — 
Come  with  us  to  the  Tuileries !  " 

"  It  cannot  be,  sire,"  said  Josephine,  smiling 
amidst  her  tears. 

"  Why  ?  "  cried  the  boy,  impatiently,  and  throw- 
ing back  his  head.  "  Come  ;  you  may  accompany 
the  emperor,  and  I  want  you  to  do  so ! " 

Napoleon,  painfully  moved  by  this  scene, 
quickly  advanced  to  the  prince,  and  took  his 
hand.  "  Come,  sire,"  he  said  in  a  tone  so  grave 
that  the  boy  dared  no  longer  resist.  Submitting 
to  his  father's  will,  he  stepped  back,  and,  pleas- 
antly  bowing,  took  leave  of  the  empress. 

"  We  shall  meet  again,"  said  Josephine,  and, 
turning  her  tearful  eyes  to  Napoleon,  she  asked, 
"  We  shall  meet  again,  sire,  shall  we  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Napoleon,  gravely,  "  we  shall  meet 
again."  He  then  took  leave  of  her  with  an 
affectionate  look,  which  fell  as  a  sunbeam  upon 
her  desolate  heart,  and,  leading  the  boy  by  the 
hand,  turned  quickly  toward  the  door.  She  looked 
after  them  in  silence  and  with  clasped  hands.  As 
the  door  opened,  the  emperor  turned  again  with 
a  parting  but  melancholy  glance. 

Josephine  was  again  alone.  With  a  groan  she 
fell  on  her  knees,  and  lifting  her  face  toward 
heaven,  she  cried,  "  My  God,  protect — preserve 
him!  Whatever  I  may  suffer,  oh,  let  him  be 
happy ! " 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

TALLKYRAXI). 

FOR  a  week  the  emperor  had  scarcely  left  hia 
cabinet;  bending  over  his  maps,  he  anxiously 
examined  the  position  of  his  army,  and  that  of 


252 


NAPOLEON  AND   BUTCHER. 


the  constantly  advancing  allies.  Every  day  couri- 
ers with  news  of  fresh  disasters  arrived  at  Paris ; 
rumors  of  invading  armies  terrified  the  citizens, 
and  disturbed  the  emperor's  temper.  It  was  im- 
possible for  the  government  to  conceal  ihe  mis- 
fortunes which  had  befallen  France  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  new  year.  The  people  knew  that 
Blucher  had  crossed  the  Rhine,  and,  victoriously 
penetrating  France,  on  the  16th  of  January  had 
taken  up  his  quarters  at  Nancy.  It  was  publicly 
known  that  a  still  larger  army  of  the  allies,  com- 
manded by  Prince  Schwartzenberg,  had  advanced 
through  Switzerland,  Lorraine,  and  Alsace,  taken 
the  fortresses,  overcome  all  resistance,  and  that 
both  generals  had  sworn  to  appear  in  front  of 
Paris  by  February,  and  conquer  the  capital.  All 
Paris  knew  this,  and  longed  for  peace  as  the  only 
way  to  put  an  end  to  the  sufferings  of  the  nation. 
The  strength  and  the  superiority  of  the  allied 
army  could  not  be  concealed,  and  it  was  felt  to 
be  impossible  to  expel  the  powerful  invaders. 

Napoleon  himself  at  length  saw  the  necessity 
of  peace,  and,  conquering  his  proud  heart,  he 
sent  the  Duke  de  Yicenza,  his  faithful  friend  Cau- 
laincourt,  to  the  headquarters  of  the  allies,  to 
request  them  to  send  plenipotentiaries  to  a  peace 
congress.  The  allies  accepted  this  proposition, 
but  they  declared  that,  despite  the  peace  con- 
gress, the  course  of  the  war  could  not  in  the 
least  be  interrupted ;  that  the  operations  in  the 
field  must  be  vigorously  continued.  Napoleon 
responded  to  this  by  decreeing  a  new  conscrip- 
tion, ordering  all  able-bodied  men  in  France  to 
be  enrolled  in  the  national  armies.  The  terrors 
of  war  were,  therefore,  approaching,  and  yet  Paris 
was  in  hope  that  peace  would  be  concluded; 
Caulaincourt  was  still  at  the  headquarters  of  the 
allies,  treating  with  them  about  the  congress. 

Early  on  the  morniug  of  the  23d  of  January, 
another  dispatch  from  Caulaincourt  to  Maret  was 
received  at  Paris,  and  the  minister  immediately 
repaired  to  the  Tuileries,  to  communicate  it  to  the 
emperor.  This  dispatch  confirmed  all  the  disas- 
trous tidings  which  had  arrived  from  day  to  day, 
and  convinced  Napoleon  and  his  minister  that 
the  vast  superiority  of  the  allied  armies  rendered 


ne  ana 

" 

ling  in 


it  impossible  for  the  emperor  to  rid  his  countrj 
of  the  formidable  invaders. 

"Maret,"  said  Napoleon,  gloomily,  "come  and 
look  at  this  map.  What  do  you  see  here  ? 

"  Sire,  a  number  of  colored  pins  extendi 
all  directions." 

"And  a  small  number  of  white  pins.  WeH, 
these  are  my  troops ;  the  colored  pins  designate 
the  armies  of  my  enemies.  They  are  allied  ;  but  I 
— I  have  no  longer  a  single  ally  at  this  hour;  I 
stand  alone,  and  have  to  meet  eight  different 
armies.  See  here,  Maret :  there  is,  in  the  first 
place,  the  grand  army  of  the  Russians,  Austrians, 
Bavarians,  and  Wurtembergers,  commanded  by 
Prince  Schwartzenberg,  and  accompanied  by  the 
allied  monarchs ;  next,  there  is  the  grand  Prus- 
sian army,  with  the  Russian  and  Saxon  corps,  un- 
der the  command  of  Blucher,  the  hussar;  here 
stand  the  Swedes  under  Bernadotte,  reenforced 
by  Russian  and  English  corps,  and  the  German 
troops  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine;  there 
comes  the  Anglo-Batavian  array;  here,  farther  to 
the  South,  is  Wellington's  army,  composed  of 
English,  Spaniards,  and  Portuguese;  there,  in 
Italy,  is  an  Austrian  corps  under  Bellegarde  ;  at  ao 
great  distance  from  it,  the  Neapolitan  corps  unc  er 
the  King  of  Naples ;  and,  finally,  here  at  Lyons,  is 
another  Austrian  corps  under  Bubna.  The  armies 
of  Schwartzenberg,  Blucher,  and  Bernadotte,  are 
about  six  hundred  thousand  strong.  And  now 
see  what  forces  I  have— I  cannot  call  them  ar- 
mies !  Augereau's  corps  is  stationed  near  Lyons ; 
Ney,  Marmont,  and  Mortier,  are  with  their  corps 
here  between  the  Meuse  and  the  Seine;  Sebas- 
tiani  and  Macdonald  are  with  the  remnants  of 
their  corps  on  the  frontier  of  the  Netherlands. 
Maret,  my  troops  are  hardly  one  hundred  thou- 
sand ;  the  allies,  therefore,  are  six  to  one." 

"Sire,"  said  Maret,  "even  a  military  genius 
like  that  of  your  majesty,  will  be  unable  to  cope 
with  such  odds,  and  it  reflects  no  dishonor  on  the 
bravest  to  submit  to  the  decrees  of  Fate." 

"It  is  true,"  murmured  Napoleon,  throwing 
himself  into  his  easy-chair,  with  his  arm  leaning 
on  the  desk,  and  his  head  bent  forward — "  it  is 
true,  I  have  no  sufficient  force  to  oppose  them ; 


TALLEYRAND. 


253 


iheir  armies  are  six  time?  as  strong  as  mine,  and, 
unless  fortune  greatly  favors  me,  I  must  yield  !  " 

"But  fortune  has  forsaken  us,  sire,  and  we 
have  no  strength  left.  Yield,  therefore,  sire; 
submit  to  a  stern  necessity ;  comply  with  the 
anxious  demand  of  France;  restore  peace  to  your 
people — to  the  world !  Do  not  endanger,  with- 
out prospect  of  success,  your  precious  life,  which 
is  necessary  to  France — your  throne,  threatened 
by  foreign  and  domestic  foes.  All  is  at  stake. 
Save  France,  save  the  throne !  Make  peace  at 
any  cost ! " 

While  Maret  was  speaking,  Xapoleon  slowly 
i  his  head,  and  sent  a  flaming  glance  on  his 
minister.  Now,  that  Maret  was  silent,  the  em- 
peror quickly  took  up  an  open  book  from  his 
desk  and  handed  it  to  Maret.  "I  will  not  an- 
swer you,  duke,"  said  Napoleon,  "but  Marmon- 
tel  shall.  R  ad  this.  Read  it  aloud." 

Maret  read :  "  '  I  know  of  nothing  more  sub- 
lime than  the  resolution  taken  by  a  monarch  liv- 
ing in  our  times,  who  would  be  buried  under  the 
ruins  of  his  throne  rather  than  accept  terms  to 
which  a  king  should  not  listen ;  he  was  possessed 
of  too  proud  a  soul  to  descend  lower  than  una- 
voidable misfortune.  He  knew  full  well  that 
courage  may  n-st.Mv  strength  and  lustre  to  a 
crown,  but  that  cowardice  and  dishonor  never 
can.' "  • 

"That  is  my  reply,  Maret,"  exclaimed  Xapo- 
leon. "The  example  of  Louis  XIV.  shall  tc.ioh 
me  to  perish  rather  than  humiliate  myself." 

"Sire,"  said  Maret,  solemnly,  "  Marmontel  is 
wrong ;  there  is  (something  more  sublime  than  to 
be  buried  under  the  ruins  of  a  throne — a  king 
sacrificing  his  own  greatness  to  the  welfare  of  a 
state  that  must  perish  with  him." 

<T  !  "  exclaimed  the  emperor,  imp*' 
"I  can  die  beneath  the  ruins  of  my  throne,  but  I 
cannot  sign  my  own  humiliation  !  Maret,  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  :  I  will  continue  this  struggle 
to  the  la-t  ;  I  v.ill  conquer  or  die!  To-morrow  I 
set  out  for  the  army.  Ah,  I  want  to  see  whether 


•  MartnunU'l,  "Grandeur  ct  D6csdence  ics  Remains' 


*  Mwinontel, 


that  drunken  general  of  hussars,  Blucher,  shall 
not  yield  to  me,  notwithstanding  his  crazy  cavalry 
tricks ;  whether  Schwartzenberg,  my  faithless 
pupil,  who  had  learned  the  art  of  war  from  me, 
will  meet  me  in  a  pitched  battle ;  and  whether  Ber- 
nadotte,  my  rebellious  subject,  dare  look  me  in 
the  face.  Maret,  the  decisive  struggle  is  at  hand. 
I  will  take  the  field,  save  Paris,  and  conquer  the 
enemy.  I  must  call  upon  all  the  men  of  France 
to  defend  the  sacred  soil  of  our  country,  and  con- 
vert every  house  into  a  castle,  every  village  into 
a  fortress,  so  that  my  enemies  shall  have  to  wrest 
every  inch  of  ground  from  us  ut  a  vast  sacrifice. 
Not  another  word  about  peace !  Every  thing  is 
ready.  Troops  are  hum  ing  forward  from  Spain 
to  fill  up  my  army ;  in  a  few  days  they  will  be 
here.  Between  the  Seine  and  the  Marne  all  my 
forces  will  unite  and  put  a  stop  to  the  advance 
of  the  allies  upon  Paris.  We  shall  occupy  a  po- 
sition by  which  it  will  be  easy  for  us  to  divide, 
disperse,  and  crush  the  enemy.  Here,  in  the 
plain  between  these  rivers,  I  shall  march  along 
the  Aube,  scatter  the  allied  army,  hurl  most  of 
my  troops  at  one  of  its  wings,  and,  by  skilful 
manoeuvres,  compel  the  other  wing  to  fall  back. 
The  enemy  must  retreat ;  I  shall  profit  by  it, 
and  when  I  have  gained  a  great  battle  over  him, 
I  can  impose  my  own  terms ;  I  have  then  con- 
quered an  honorable  peace  for  France — one  that 
we  can  subscribe  to  without  blushing.  Ah,  I  see 
a  brilliant  future  !  It  is  time  to  begin.  My  eagles 
are  ascending ;  they  are  not  ravens  or  bats — they 
are  soaring  to  the  sun."  As  the  emperor  uttered 
these  words  his  soul  illuminated  his  face  ;  he  was 
again  the  conqueror,  confiding  in  his  star. 

Maret  looked  anxiously,  but  admiringly,  at  Xa- 
poleon's  face,  in  which  great  resolutions  were 
beaming,  and  he  read  there  an  assurance  and 
determination  that  nothing  could  change.  "You 
have  made  up  your  mind,  then,  sire:  the  war  is  to 
go  on,  and  the  peace  congress  is  not  to  meet  ?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,"  exclaimed  Xapoleon,  smiling, 

"let  it  meet,  if  the  allies  wish  it.     While  Caulain- 

court,   Metternieh,  and  Hardenberg,  are  dictating 

of  peace  with  their  pens,  we  shall  do  so  with 

i  our  swords.  *nd  we  shall  soon  see  which  will  make 


254 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


the  more  progress.  But  let  us  now  commence 
with  some  movements  of  peace.  We  must  be  on 
good  terms  with  Spain  and  Rome.  Let  Ferdinand 
return  as  King  to  Spain,  and  as  such  become  my 
ally.  I  shall  also  open  the  doors  of  Pope  Pius's 
prison  at  Fontainebleau ;  let  him  return  as  pope 
to  Rome,  and,  as  God's  vicegerent,  be  on  my  side. 
Maret,  here  are  already  two  allies.  In  order  to 
conquer,  but  one  is  wanting ;  and  it  is  for  you, 
Maret,  to  procure  it." 

"  Sire,  what  is  the  name  of  this  ally  ?  "  asked  the 
Duke  de  Bassano,  in  amazement. 

"  Money !  money !  and,  for  the  third  time, 
money !  Procure  me  five  millions  in  cash,  and 
I  can  add  one  hundred  thousand  men  to  my 
army." 

"  Ah,  sire,  our  chests  are  empty ! "  sighed 
Maret. 

"But  I  must  have  money,"  replied  Napoleon, 
vehemently.  "  Without  it  no  war  can  be  waged 
— no  victory  gained.  Five  millions,  Maret;  I 
need  them ;  I  must  have  them ! " 

Mo  ret  looked  thoughtful.  Suddenly  his  face 
kindled,  and  his  whole  frame  shook  with  joy. 
"  Sire,  your  majesty  asks  for  five  millions  ?  " 

"  Yes,  five  millions,  to  begin  with." 

"  Well,  then,  sire,  I  can  tell  you  where  to  find 
them,  and  perhaps  more." 

"Where?" 

u  Sire,  will  you  pledge  me  your  imperial  word 
not  to  betray  that  it  was  I  who  told  you  where  to 
find  this  money  ?  " 

4<  Certainly,  Maret." 

"  Listen,  sire  ;  but  permit  me  to  whisper  what 
I  do  not  wish  even  the  walls  to  hear."  He  bent 
close  to  the  emperor's  ear. 

Napoleon  listened  with  breathless  attention, 
and  nodded  repeatedly.  "  You  really  believe  this 
to  be  true,  Maret  ?  "  he  then  asked,  eagerly. 

"  Sire,  I  affirm  it  to  be  true.  It  is  a  secret 
known  only  to  three  persons !  It  was  betrayed  to 
me  to  gain  me  over  by  an  act  of  treachery — but 
that  is  altogether  another  matter ;  the  fact  is  suffi- 
cient." 

"  And  this  fact  is,  that  I  shall  find  with  my 
mother  the  millions  tliat  I  need?"  said  the  em- 


peror. "  Maret,  if  that  is  BO,  I  shall  hare  *heo» 
this  very  day." 

"Your  majesty  believes  so?  Madame  Le- 
titia— " 

"  My  mother  is  avaricious,  you  wish  to  say  ? 
It  is  true,  her  extreme  economy  has  often  vexed 
me ;  to-day  it  gladdens  my  heart ;  for,  thanks  to 
her  parsimony,  I  shall  find  with  her  what  I  need 
for  my  army.  She  will  deny  these  millions  to 
me,  to  be  sure ;  but  you  told  me  where  to  look 
for  them,  and  I  pledge  you  my  word  I  know  how 
to  find  and  take  them  !  Hush,  not  another  word  ! 
I  shall  have  what  I  want  within  an  hour.  Go  now, 
Maret.  You  will  meet  the  Prince  de  Benevento 
in  the  antechamber.  Send  him  to  me.  I  have 
to  address  a  few  parting  words  to  M.  de  Talley- 
rand." 

The  emperor  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  mag- 
nificently furnished  cabinet  when  the  Prince  de  Be- 
nevento slowly  opened  the  door  and  entered.  The 
prince  bore  the  emperor's  piercing  look  with  * 
perfectly  composed  air.  Not  a  feature  of  his 
aristocratic  countenance  expressed  any  anxiety 
and  his  smile  did  not  for  an  instant  vanish  from 
his  lips.  With  a  sort  of  careless  bearing  he  aj>- 
proached  the  emperor,  who  allowed  him  to  core  e 
near  him,  still  watching  every  expression  of  his 
countenance. 

"  I  wished  to  see  you,"  he  said,  "  in  order  to 
tell  you  that  I  shall  set  out  for  the  army  the  day 
after  to-morrow."  Talleyrand  bowed,  but  made 
no  reply.  "  Do  you  desire  to  accompany  me  ?  " 
asked  the  emperor,  vehemently. 

"  Sire,  what  should  I  do  at  the  headquarters  of 
the  army  ?  "  said  Talleyrand,  shrugging  his  shoul- 
ders. "  Your  majesty  knows  well  that  I  could  be 
of  very  little  service  in  the  army — that  I  am  able 
only  to  wield  the  pen." 

"And  the  tongue!"  added  Napoleon.  "But 
before  leaving  Paris  I  will  give  you  some  whole 
some  advice ;  bridle  both  your  tongue  and  youi 
pen  a  little  better  than  you  have  done  of  late.  ) 
know  that  you  will  not  shrink  from  any  treach- 
ery, and  that  you  are  the  first  rat  that  will  desert 
the  sinking  ship ;  but  consider  what  you  are 
doing.  The  ship  is  not  yet  hi  danger,  and, 


TALLEYRAND. 


255 


apieuding  her  sails,  she  will  move   >roudly  on  her 
wa." 


"  I  h.»pe  she  will  have  favorable  wind-;  an 
water,"  said  Talleyrand,  bowing  carelessly. 

Napoleon  looked  at  him  wifh  hatred  and  rage. 
These  equivocal  words  —  the  calm,  cold  tone  in 
which  they  were  uttered,  disturbed  the  emperor, 
and  hi*  blood  boiled.  "I  believe  in  the  sincerity 
of  your  wish,"  he  said,  "although  there  are  many 
who  assart  that  you  are  a  traitor.  I  have  given 
you  fair  naming  ;  now  prorj  to  those  who  are  ac- 
cusing you,  that  they  are  doing  you  injustice. 
No  intrigues  !  You  will  be  closely  watched. 
Beware  !  ''  Talleyrand  bowed  again,  and  his 
face  still  retained  its  indifferent,  smiling  expres- 
sion. "  Listen  now  to  what  I  have  to  say," 
added  Napoleon.  "Prior  to  my  departure  I  de- 
sire to  put  an  end  to  the  dissensions  with  Rome 
and  Spain.  The  pope  will  leave  Fontainebleau 
to-morrow  and  return  to  Rome.  The  Infante  of 
Spain,  too,  is  at  liberty  to  return  to  his  country 
and  ascend  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  Go  to- 
morrow to  Valen9ay.  It  was  you  who  conveyed 
Ferdinand  thither;  you  must,  therefore,  open  the 
doors  of  his  prison  that  you  locked." 

"Sire,  I  thank  your  majesty  for  the  favor 
which  you  desire  to  confer  on  me,"  said  Talley- 
rand, gravely.  "  But  it  was  not  I  who  arrested 
the  sacred  person  of  the  legitimate  King  of  Spain  ; 
it  was  not  I  who  dared  to  deprive  him  of  his 
rights  —  nay,  his  very  liberty.  I  acted  only  as 
the  obedient  servant  of  my  master,  for  your  ma- 
jesty's orders  made  me  the  jailer  of  the  Infante 
of  Spain." 

Napoleon  approached  Talleyrand,  and  his  Hani- 
eyes  seemed  to  pierce  his  soul.     "  What  !  " 
he  shouted,  in  a  loud  voice.     "  You  wish  to  give 
yourself  now  the  semblance  of  innocence  in  this 
What  !     You  only  executed  my  orders, 
and  I  made  you  the  jailer  of  the  infante  !     Who 
it,  then,  that  urged  me  to  do  this  ?     Who 
it  that  told  me  it  was  in<i  for  me 

to  crush  the  head  of  this  Spanish  hydra  ?  Who 
wished  even  to  persuade  me  to  more  energetic 
measures  than  imprisonment,  in  order  to  get  rid 
of  the  royal  family  of  Spain  ?  Who  told  me  at 


*• 


that  time  that  it  would  be  wiser  and  better  for 
the  welfare  of  Europe  to  cut  the  Gordian  knot  in- 
stead of  untying  it  ?  Do  you  remember  who  did 
all  this?" 

Talleyrand  made  no  reply.  His  countenance 
still  exhibiting  the  same  indifferent  composure, 
he  seemed  scarcely  to  have  heard  the  rebukes  of 
the  emperor.  His  head  slightly  bent  forward, 
his  eyes  half  closed,  his  lips  compressed,  he  stood 
leaning  with  one  hand  on  the  back  of  a  chair, 
and  with  the  other  playimg  with  his  lace-frill. 
This  conduct  greatly  augmented  the  emperor's 
anger.  "  Will  you  reply  to  me  ?  "  thundered  Na- 
poleon, stamping  the  floor,  and  so  near  to  Tal- 
leyrand's foot  that  the  prince  softly  drew  it  back. 
"  Will  you  reply  to  me  ?  " 

Talleyrand  looked  at  the  emperor  with  immov- 
able calmness.  "Sire,"  he  said,  slowly,  "I  do 
not  know  what  your  majesty  means." 

"You  do  not  know  what  I  mean?"  echoed 
Napoleon.  "  If  you  do  not,  listen  ! "  Unable 
longer  to  overcome  his  auger,  he  advanced  tow- 
ard Talleyrand,  and  the  prince  drew  back.  As  if 
beside  himself,  the  emperor  raised  his  clinche*. 
fists,  and  held  them  toward  the  prince's  face, 
moving  through  the  large  room,  while  Talleyrand, 
looking  the  emperor  full  in  the  face,  retreated, 
taking  care  to  get  nearer  the  door. 

"  I  will  tell  you  that  you  are  a  traitor,"  cried 
Napoleon,  rushing  forward — "  a  traitor  who  would 
like  to  deny  to-day  what  he  did  yesterday,  be- 
cause he  believes  that  another  era  is  dawning, 
and  that  he  must  betray  his  master  before  the 
cock  crows  for  the  first  time.  You  wish  to  deny 
that  it  was  you  who  urged  me  to  imprison  the 
Spanish  prince  ?  You  are  impudent  enough  to 
tell  me  that  to  my  face  ?  "  So  saying,  the  em- 
peror's clinched  fist  almost  touched  the  cheek  of 
the  prince,  who  was  still  receding,  and  now  no- 
ticed with  a  feeling  of  relief  that  he  had  reached 
the  end  of  i  us  promenu 

"  Do  you  really  dare  deny  your  past  in  so  ban- 
faced  a  manner  ?  "  cried  Napoleon,  still  holding 
his  fist  so  close  to  Talleyrand's  cheek  that  he 
almost  felt  it. 

The  prince  aoftly  put  his  hand  behind  his  back, 


256 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


and  fortunately  succeeded  in  seizing  the  door- 
knob. He  opened  the  door  with  a  hasty  jerk  so 
wide  that  the  gentlemen  assembled  in  the  ante- 
room enjoyed  the  spectacle  of  Napoleon  with  up- 
lifted fists  threatening  his  minister. 

"  Sire,"  said'  Talleyrand,  in  a  calm  voice,  "  I 
shall  not  dare  say  any  thing;  for  I  know  of  no 
reply  to  what  your  majesty  has  said."  The  prince 
pointed  with  a  sarcastic  smile  to  the  clinched  fists  of 
the  emperor,  and,  without  complying  with  the  re- 
quirements of  usual  cej emony,  he  hastened,  more 
rapidly  than  his  lame  foot  generally  permitted  him 
to  do,  through  the  antechamber,  saluting  the  gen- 
tlemen as  he  passed  with  a  wave  of  his  hand  and 
a  smile.  On  stepping  into  the  outer  room  he  ac- 
celerated his  pace,  gliding  down-stairs  as  softly  as 
a  cat,  and  hurrying  across  the  hall  to  his  car- 
riage. 

"  Home,"  he  said  aloud,  "  at  a  gailop  ! "  When 
the  horses  started,  Talleyrand  leaned  back,  and 
said  to  himself,  "  This  was  our  last  adieu !  I  shall 
take  good  care  not  to  meet  Napoleon  again,  pro- 
vided he  is  stupid  enough  to  give  me  time  for 
making  my  dispositions." 

The  emperor  in  the  mean  time,  half  ashamed 
of  himself,  reentered  the  cabinet,  and  locked  the 
door.  Angry  as  a  lion  in  his  cage,  he  paced  to 
and  fro  with  quick  steps,  when  suddenly  a  gentle 
voice  behind  him  said,  "  Sire,  pray  be  so  gracious 
as  to  listen  to  me  ! " 

The  emperor  turned  with  an  angry  gesture,  and 
saw  the  Duke  de  Rovigo  standing  near  the  open 
door  of  the  antechamber.  "  Well,  Savary,  what 
do  you  want?  "  he  asked  in  a  faint  voice.  "Shut 
the  door,  and  come  here. — Speak  !  What  do  you 
want?" 

"  Sire,  to  implore  you  to  be  on  your  guard," 
said  the  duke.  "Your  majesty  has  just  had  a 
violent  scene  with  the  Prince  de  Benevento." 

'•  Who  told  you  so  ?  " 

"  Sire,  we  could  distinctly  hear  7our  majesty's 
voice  in  the  antechamber ;  and,  when  the  prince 
opened  the  door,  the  rest,  like  myself,  saw  your 


threatening  attitude. 
know  it." 

"Well?" 

v. 


In  an  hour  all  Paris  will 


"  Sire,  the  Prince  de  Benevento  is  not  the  man 
to  forget  an  insult,  and  it  will  mortify  him  doubly 
that  the  world  will  hear  of  it." 

"  Let  it  mortify  him ! "  cried  Napoleon.  "  All  of 
you  have  insinuated  to  me  that  Talleyrand  is  a 
traitor,  deserving  punishment.  I  have  chastised 
him ;  that  is  all." 

"  Sire,  the  chastisement  was  either  too  severe,  or 
not  severe  enough,"  said  Savary,  gravely.  "  Had 
it  been  too  severe,  the  generous  heart  of  your 
majesty  would  think  of  offering  him  some  satis- 
faction ;  but  I  know  Talleyrand,  and  am  firmly  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  my  statement — I  pronounce 
him  a  plotter  of  dangerous  intrigues.  Your  "ma- 
jesty therefore  cannot  chastise  him  too  severely ; 
and,  having  gone  so  far,  you  must  now  go  still 
farther." 

"  How  so  ?     What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Sire,  I  mean  that  your  majesty,  instead  of  al- 
lowing the  Prince  de  Benevento  to  return  home, 
ought  to  send  him  to  Vincennes,  and  recommend 
him  to  the  special  care  of  your  friend  General 
Daumesnil." 

"  Ah,  I  ought  to  have  him  arrested  ! "  cried  Na- 
poleon, shrugging  his  shoulders.  "  I  ought  to  raak  e 
a  martyr  out  of  a  traitor ! " 

"No,  sire,  punish  a  traitor,  neither  more  ncr 
less  !  I  know  that  Talleyrand  is  one.  He  is  is 
secret  communication  with  the  legitimists,  cor- 
responding with  the  Bourbons,  through  other 
hands ;  at  his  house,  meetings  of  malcontents  and 
secret  royalists  are  held  every  day;  there  the 
fires  are  kindled  that  will  soon  burst  into  devour- 
ing  energy,  unless  your  majesty  extinguish  them 
in  time.  You  have  disdained  to  regain  Talleyrand 
by  promises  or  honors.  You  have  insulted  him, 
and  he  will  revenge  himself,  if  the  power  of  doing 
so  be  left  him.  Sire,  I  venture  to  remind  your 
majesty  of  Machiavel,  '  One  ought  never  to  make 
half  an  enemy.'  " 

"  It  is  true,"  murmured  Napoleou  to  himself, 
thoughtfully,  "nothing  is  more  dangerous  than 
such  half  enmities.  Under  the  mask  of  friend- 
ship they  betray  us  the  more  surely." 

"  Hence,  sire,  pray  tear  this  mask  from  Talley- 
rand's treacherous  face.  Meet  him  as  an  open 


TALLEYRAND. 


257 


enemy.     Then  either  his  enmity  will  be  destroyed 
by  terror,  or  he  will  betray  his  intentions." 

"  I  lack  proof  to  convict  him,"  said  Napoleon, 
in  a  hesitating  and  wavering  tone. 

"  Well,  yes,"  exclaimed  Savary,  "  you  have  no 
proof,  but  there  cannot  be  the  least  doubt  aa  to 
the  intrigues  which  he  is  bold  enough  to  plot. 
The  opportunity  is  too  favorable  that  he  should 
not  endeavor  to  embrace  it.  Sire,  I  should  like 
to  urge  the  example  of  the  great  police-minister 
of  Louis  XV.  Whenever  M.  de  Sartines  was  on 
the  eve  of  a  festival,  or  any  great  public  ceremony, 
he  sent  for  all  suspicious  persons  to  whom  his 
attention  was  particularly  directed,  and  said  to 
them,  '  I  have  no  charge  against  you  at  present, 
but  to-morrow  It  may  be  different.  Habit  you 
know  has  power  over  you,  and  you  are  unlikely 
to  resist  temptation.  It  would  be  incumbent  upon 
me  to  treat  you  with  extreme  rigor.  For  your 
well  as  mine,  be  kind  enough  therefore 
to  repair  for  a  few  days  to  a  prison,  the  choice  of 
which  I  leave  to  yourselves.'  The  suspected  per- 
sons willingly  complied  with  his  request,  and  no 
arrests  were  m;ide." 

"  You  may  be  right ;  M.  de  Sartines  was  vin- 
btedly  a  sagacious  police-minister,"  said  the 
peror,  musingly.  "  His  precaution  is  good  for 
e  who  are  afraid  ;  but  I  am  not !  If  I  con- 
quer my  enemies,  I  thereby  trample  in  the  dust 
this  vile  serpent,  too,  that  would  sting  me,  and 
en  would  crawl  as  a  worm  at  my  feet.  If  I 
yield  to  my  enemies,  let  the  structure  which  I 
have  Imih  fall  upon  me.  It  will  not  matter  then 
whether  Talleyrand's  hand,  too,  broke  off  a  piece 
of  the  wall  or  not ;  it  would  hay}  fallen  without 
him.  Not  another  word  about  it,  Savary !  My 

ge — I  will  ride  to  my  mother!" 
On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  the  Prince  de 
evento   left    his    palace,  rnN-iv !    a    h 

,  and  WHS  driven  to  one  of  the  n. ••; 
the   Faubourg    St.    Germain.      Ho   stop: 
t  ol  a  small,  mean-looking  hou-c ;  and,  ulu-n 
.  the   prince    knock.'  1    three 
iu  a  peculiar  manner  at  the  street  door.     It 
and  he  cuitiou.-V  No  one  was 

to  be  seen  in    the   lighted   hall  ;    but  TallevramI 
17 


seemed  perfectly  familiar  with  the  locality ;  and 
crossing,  without  hesitation,  a  long  passage,  he 
ascended  the  thickly-carpeted  staircase.  Here 
was  another  locked  door,  beside  which  was  a  bell, 
which  the  prince  rang  three  times.  The  door 
was  opened,  and  he  walked  through  a  long  corri- 
dor. The  passage  widened,  and  the  prince  was 
now  in  a  brilliant  hall,  decorated  with  paintings 
and  gildings.  The  entrance  through  the  small 
house  was  plainly  but  a  circuitous  road  to  one  of 
the  palaces  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Germain  where 
the  royalists  were  plotting  mischief.  At  the  end 
of  this  hall  was  a  portiere,  in  front  of  which  waa 
a  richly-liveried  footman.  Talleyrand  whispered 
a  few  words  ;  the  servant  bowed  and  opened  the 
door.  The  prince  now  entered  a  saloon,  furnished 
in  the  most  magnificent  and  tasteful  style,  where 
another  liveried  attendant  was  waiting.  "  The 
Countess  du  Cayla  ?  "  asked  the  Prince  de  Bene- 
vento. 

"She  is  in  her  cabinet.  Shall  I  announce  your 
highness  ?  " 

"  It  is  unnecessary." 

He  quickly  approached  and  knocked  softly  at 
the  door  of  the  cabinet.  A  sweet  voice  bade  him 
come  in.  Before  him  stood  a  young  lady  who 
welcomed  him  with  a  charming  smile,  but  with 
an  air  of  ill-concealed  amazement.  "Oh,  the 
Prince  de  Benevento  ! "  she  exclaimed,  merrily. 
"  You  come  to  me  to-day ;  but  yesterday,  when 
I  went  to  you  to  bring  you  greetings  from  our 
august  master,  King  Louis  XVIIL,  you  feigned 
not  to  understand  whom  I  wished  to  speak  of, 
and  imposed  silence." 

"  To-day  I  come  to  make  amends  for  what  I 
did   yesterday,  countess,"  said   Talleyrand,  with 
his  graceful  kindness.     "  Be  good  enough  to  in- 
form his   majesty    King   Louis   XVIII.  that   he 
may  henceforth  count  upon  my  services  and  mj 
is  dcvotedness.     I  shall  assist  him  in  open 
inir  the  road  to  I'aiis,  and  do  all  I  can  that  his 
•' v  may  soon  be  able  to  make  his  entrance 
into  the  capital  of  his  kingdom." 

"Then  you  have  forsaken  Napoleon  openly 
and  unreservedly  ! "  exclaimed  the  Countess  du 
Cayla,  the  zealous  agent  of  the  Count  de  Lille, 


258 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


whom  at  that  time  none  but  the  royalists  secretly 
culled  King  Louis  XVIII.  "  You  are,  then,  one 
of  us,  now  and  forever  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  consider  myself  a  member  of  your 
party,"  said  Talleyrand,  "  and  at  heart  I  was  al- 
ways one  of  the  most  faithful  and  zealous  ser- 
vants of  the  king.  I  can  prove  it,  for  it  was  I 
who  led  Napoleon,  step  by  step,  frequently  even 
in  spite  of  his  reluctance,  to  the  brink  of  ruin,  on 
which  he  is  standing  now,  and  I  am  ready  to  give 
him  a  last  thrust  to  plunge  him  into  the  abyss. 
The  emperor  has  been  guilty  of  great  folly  to-day. 
He  ought  to  have  had  me  arrested,  but  he  failed 
to  do  so.  For  this  mistake  I  shall  punish  him  by 
profiting  by  my  liberty  in  the  service  of  his  ma- 
jesty the  king.  Let  us  consider,  therefore,  count- 
ess, what  we  ought  to  do  for  the  speedy  return 
of  King  Louis  XVIII.  to  Paris." 

"  Yes,  let  us  consider  that,"  exclaimed  the 
countess ;  "  and  if  you  have  no  objection,  prince, 
we  shall  allow  the  faithful  friends  of  his  majesty 
to  participate  in  the  consultation.  Upward  of 
one  hundred  friends  are  already  assembled  in 
the  large  saloon,  and  they  are  doubtless  aston- 
ished at  my  prolonged  absence.  Come,  prince ! 
You  will  meet  an  old  friend  among  your  new 
friends." 

"  Who  is  it,  countess  ?  " 

"  The  Duke  d'Otranto ! " 

"What?  Is  he  here?  Has  he  dared  to  re- 
turn?" 

"  He  has,  with  the  emperor's  sister,  the  Prin- 
cess Eliza  Bacciochi  ;  and  he  is  believed  to 
be  with  her  in  the  south  of  France,  in  order 
to  await  the  course  of  events.  But  he  has  se- 
cretly and  in  disguise  come  to  Paris,  in  order, 
like  you,  to  offer  his  services  to  King  Louis. 
Late  events  seem  to  have  converted  him  into  a 
very  zealous  royalist,  and  he  openly  admits  his 
conversion.  He  boasts  of  having  said  to  the 
Princess  Eliza :  '  Madame,  there  is  but  one  way 
of  salvation  :  the  emperor  must  be  killed  on  the 
spot.' "  * 

"  In  truth,  he  is  right,"  said  Talleyrand,  smil- 

•  -  M6molres  dn  Due  rte  Rovigo,"  voL  vL,  p.  352. 


ing ;  "  that  would  speedily  put  an  end  to  all  em- 
barrassments. Well,  the  emperor  intends  to  join 
the  army ;  perhnps,  a  hostile  bullet  may  become 
our  ally,  and  save  us  further  trouble.  If  not,  we 
shall  speak  of  the  matter  hereafter.  Permit  me, 
countess,  to  conduct  you  to  the  saloon." 


CHAPTER    XLVI. 


MADAME    LET1TIA. 

PROFOUND  silence  reigned  in  the  palace  of  "  Ma- 
dame Mere."  It  was  noonday,  and  the  male  and 
female  servants,  as  well  as  the  ladies  of  honor  of 
the  emperor's  mother,  had  left  the  palace  to  take 
elsewhere  the  dinner  which  Madame  Letitia  re- 
fused to  give  them,  and  for  which  she  paid  them 
every  month  a  ridiculously  small  sum ;  only  the 
two  cooks,  whom  madame,  notwithstanding  her 
objections,  had  to  keep,  in  compliance  with  the 
express  orders  of  the  emperor,  were  in  the  kite  i- 
en,  but  under  the  vigilant  supervision  of  old  Cor- 
delia, the  faithful  servant  who  had  accompanied 
madame  from  Corsica  to  France,  and  who,  since 
then,  notwithstanding  all  vicissitudes,  had  re- 
mained her  companion.  Cordelia  not  only  watche  d 
the  cooks  and  gave  them  what  was  needed  for 
preparing  the  meals,  but,  as  soon  as  the  dishes 
were  handed  to  the  servant  who  was  to  carry 
them  to  the  table,  she  hastened  after  him  in 
order  to  prevent  him  from  putting  any  thing 
aside.  When  Cordelia  went  with  the  servant, 
she  opened,  with  an  air  of  self-importance,  a  cup- 
board fixed  in  the  wall  of  the  corridor,  near  the 
dining-room,  of  which  she  alone  possessed  the 
key,  and,  as  soon  as  the  servant  returned  with 
the  fragments  of  the  dinner,  she  locked  them  in 
this  cupboard  with  the  wine  and  bread ;  only  on 
Sundays  did  the  dinner-table  of  Madame  Mere 
provide  any  thing  for  the  servants. 

To-day,  however,  was  not  Sunday,  and  hence 
Madame  Cordelia  herself  had  placed  a  bottle,  hulf 
filled  with  wine  remaining  from  yesterday's  din- 
ner, on  the  table,  at  which  no  one  but  Madam* 


MADAME   LETITIA. 


259 


Letitia  was  to  scat  herself,  one  of  the  ladies  of 
honor,  who  always  dined  with  her,  having  been 
excused  on  account  of  indisposition.  Ma<lame 
Letitia  was  therefore  alone  to-day;  it  was  unne- 
cessary for  her  to  submit  to  the  restraint  of  eti- 
quette, and  she  yielded  with  genuine  relief  to  an 
unwonted  freedom.  She  was  in  her  sitting-room, 
busily  engaged  in  taking  from  a  large  basket,  the 
plebeian  appearance  of  which  contrasted  strange- 
ly with  the  magnificent  Turkish  carpet  on  which 
it  stood,  the  folded  clothea  which  the  washer- 
woman had  just  delivered.  The  appearance  of 
Madame  Mere  herself  was  also  in  some  contrast 
with  the  gorgeous  surroundings  amid  which  she 
moved. 

The  room  was  furnished  with  princely  magnifi- 
cence, the  walls  being  hung  with  heavy  satin,  and 
curtains  of  the  same  description,  adorned  with 
gold  embroideries,  suspended  on  both  sides  of  the 
high  windows ;  the  richly-carved  chairs  and  sofas 
were  covered  with  purple  velvet,  and  the  tables 
had  marble  slabs  of  Florentine  workmanship.  A 
chandelier  of  rock-crystal  hung  in  solid  gold 
chains  from  the  ceiling ;  masterly  paintings  in 
broad,  rich  frames  were  on  the  silken  walls ;  Japan 
vases  stood  on  gilded  consoles,  and  numerous 
costly  ornaments  added  to  the  splendor  of  the  aris- 
tocratic apartment. 

Madame  Letitia,  standing  be.-ide  the  wash-bas- 
ket, presented  a  marked  contrast  with  all  this. 
Her  tail  figure  was  wrapped  in  a  liirlit  white 
muslin  dress  trimmed  below  with  rosettes,  and 
from  which  protruded  a  rather  large  foot,  covered 
with  a  cotton  stocking,  and  encased  in  a  coarse, 
worn-out  shoe.  A  sash  of  rose-colored  silk,  with 
•roidcry,  encircled  her  waist;  a  lace 
>m,  and  tied  in  a  care- 
less knot  on  her  back,  enveloped  her  neck  and 
full  shoulders.  Iler  hair,  falling  down  in 
gray  :  :  Mounted  by  a  sort  of  turban, 

and  a  l.ir^e   bouquet  of  artificial   ro-. 
above  her  forehead,  was  hor  only  ornai: 

There  uas  nothing  therefore  imposing  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  emperor's  mother  ;  but  still  there 
«as  something  noble  about  her,  and  that  \\a~  h«-r 
fhce.  It  was  of  imperishable  beauty;  its  outlines 


were  classic  and  of  great  dignity,  and  her  eyes, 
which  were  of  the  deep,  incomparable  color  which 
she  had  bequeathed  to  her  son  the  emperor,  pos- 
sessed still  the  lustre  of  youth  ;  her  lips  were  fresh, 
and  her  teeth  faultless ;  not  a  single  wrinkle  fur- 
rowed her  forehead,  and  her  finely-curved  nose 
added  to  the  imperious  expression  of  her  features. 
The  whole  bearing  of  Madame  Letitia  indicated  a 
lofty  and  yet  a  gentle  spirit.  He  who  beheld  only 
this  form,  with  its  strange  dress,  could  not  refrain 
from  smiling ;  but  a  glance  at  the  beautiful  and 
dignified  face  filled  the  beholder  with  feelings  of 
reverence  and  admiration. 

Madame  Letitia,  as  we  have  said,  was  engaged 
in  unpacking  the  clothes  just  returned  by  the 
laundress.  This  was  an  occupation  which  she 
never  intrusted  to  any  of  her  attendants,  but  in 
which  she  could  generally  engage  only  secretly 
and  at  night,  after  she  had  dismissed  them ;  for 
the  emperor  made  it  incumbent  on  his  mother's 
ladies  of  honor  to  observe  the  strictest  etiquette, 
and  forbade  her  to  occupy  herself  with  affairs 
improper  for  the  mother  of  an  emperor.  Hence, 
Madame  Letitia  was  obliged,  for  the  most  part, 
to  lead  the  life  of  an  aristocratic  lady,  to  embroider 
a  little,  ride  out,  have  her  companions  read  to  her, 
receive  visitors,  and  pass  the  day  in  ennui.  Only 
at  night,  when  the  ladies  left  the  palace — when  eti- 
quette permitted  Madame  Letitia  to  retire  with 
her  maid  Cordelia  into  her  bedroom — only  then 
commenced  her  active  lifr.  At  that  time  madame 
conversed  -.vith  her  confidantes  about  her  household 
affairs ;  she  decided  what  dishes  should  be  prepared 
for  the  following  day,  and,  when  all  were  asleep 
and  she  was  sure  of  being  watched  by  no  one,  she 
proceeded  with  her  faithful  Cordelia  to  the  cup- 
!  of  the  corridor  to  examine  the  remnants 
.  from  dinner,  and  to  decide  whether  they 
might  not  be  served  up  again. 

On  tliis  dny  she  was  free  from  the  restraints  ot 
etiquette.  The  lady  on  service  had  been  taken  ill ; 
and  her  second  lady  of  honor,  not  anticipating  such 
an  event,  had  obtained  leave  to  take  a  trip  to 
iame  Letitia,  therefore,  was  at 
liberty  to  dispose  of  her  time  as  she  pleased  ;  sne 
could  fearlessly  indulge  in  occupations  entirely 


260 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


contrary  to  etiquette,  and  she  embraced  this  rare 
opportunity  in  the  course  of  the  forenoon  of  ex- 
amining the  clothes,  which  otherwise  would  have 
had  this  honor  only  after  nightfall.  But  the  con- 
sequence was,  that  the  usually  serene  forehead  of 
Madame  Letitia  grew  dark,  because  she  was  by  no 
means  satisfied  with  the  performance  of  her  laun- 
dress. Just  as  her  busy  hands  took  up  another 
piece  from  the  basket  and  unfolded  it,  the  door 
behind  her  opened.  She  heard  it,  but  did  not  turn, 
knowing  very  well  that  it  was  Cordelia  who  entered 
her  room,  for  no  one  else  had  the  right  of  taking 
such  a  liberty  without  being  duly  and  formally 
announced. 

"  Cordelia,"  she  exclaimed,  "  Cordelia,  come  and 
look  at  these  tbwels  of  the  cook ;  all  of  them  are  al- 
ready threadbare,  and  it  is  but  a  year  since  I  bought 
them.  You  ought  to  tell  the  cook  very  emphat- 
ically that  he  should  be  more  careful  and  not  ruin 
my  towels.  Do  you  hear,  Cordelia  ?  " 

"Cordelia  is  not  here,"  said  a  grave,  angry 
voice  behind  her.  Madame  Letitia  started,  and  a 
deep  blush  suffused  her  cheeks.  Close  behind  her 
stood  the  emperor,  fixing  his  stern  eyes  on  his 
mother. 

"  The  emperor  ! "  she  murmured,  yielding  to  the 
first  movement  of  terror,  and  sinking  back  on  her 
chair. 

"  Yes,  the  emperor  !  "  said  Napoleon,  approach- 
iug  and  casting  angry  glances  on  the  clothes  spread 
out  on  the  table.  "  The  emperor  pays  a  visit  to 
nis  mother,  and  finds  to  his  amazement  that  little 
respect  is  felt  here  for  his  orders,  and  that  it  is 
deemed  unnecessary  to  comply  with  his  wishes. 
Ah,  madame,  how  can  the  emperor  expect  the 
people  to  obey  him  everywhere  and  uncondition- 
ally, when  his  own  family  set  an  example  of  dis- 
obedience, and  openly  show  that  the  emperor's  or- 
ders are  indifferent  to  them  ?  " 

"  When  have  I  shown  indifference  to  them  ?  " 
asked  Madame  Letitia,  casting  a  despairing  glance 
on  the  basket. 

"You  show  it  at  this  very  hour,"  said  the  em- 
peror, sternly,  "  and  every  thing  proves  that  you 
are  m  the  habit  of  disobeying  my  wishes.  I  met 
with  no  footmen  in  the  outer  antechamber ;  I  ciid 


not  see  the  chamberlain  of  your  imperial  highness 
in  the  adjoining  room." 

"  It  is  noonday,  and  they  have  gone  to  dinner." 

"  Ah,  it  is  true,  your  imperial  highness  directs 
your  court  to  take  their  meals  at  other  houses," 
exclaimed  the  emperor,  with  a  sarcastic  smile. 
"  You  are  paying  board-money  to  the  chamber- 
lain, the  valet  de  chambre,  and  the  footman,  so 
that  it  is  unnecessary  for  you  to  feed  them.  But 
where  is  your  waiting-lady,  madame  ?  Did  I  not 
issue  orders  that  etiquette  should  be  observed  at 
my  mother's  palace,  and  that  your  imperial  high- 
ness  should  always  have  your  lady  of  honor  with 
you?" 

"  The  Duchess  d'Abrantes  was  suddenly  taken 
sick  this  morning,  and  had  to  return  to  her 
house." 

"  In  that  case  the  second  lady  of  honor  ought 
to  have  taken  her  place." 

"  Yesterday  I  gave  permission  to  the  Countess 
de  Castries  to  go  to  a  family-festival  to  be  cele- 
brated at  Versailles,  and  she  went  early  this 
morning." 

"  Every  thing,  then,  is  here  just  as  it  ought  to 
be!"  cried  the  emperor,  indignantly,  thrusting 
the  basket  with  his  foot.  "It  is  in  strict  acco.'d-. 
ance  with  my  wishes  that  your  house  is  empty, 
that  you  are  so  occupied,  that  you  are  alone,  and 
that  there  was  no  one  to  announce  my  visit  ?  " 

"  But  Cordelia  certainly  was  there,  and  quite 
ready  to  attend  to  this." 

"  Yes,  she  was,"  cried  the  emperor,  "  and  it  is 
true  she  wished  to  do  me  that  honor.  But  I 
would  not  allow  her,  and  preferred  coming  to  you 
without  being  announced.  In  truth,  it  would  be 
too  ludicrous  if  the  old  Sibyl  had  served  the  em- 
peror as  mistress  of  ceremonies." 

"  She  formerly  did  him  far  greater  and  more 
difficult  service,"  said  Madame  Letitia,  in  a  firm 
and  calm  voice,  for  she  had  fully  recovered  her 
presence  of  mind,  and,  rising  from  her  easy-chair, 
proudly  bridled  herself  up  and  turned  toward 
the  emperor  her  face,  which  now  had  resumed  its 
expression  of  noble  dignity  and  composure. 

"  When  I  first  saw  your  countenance,"  she  said, 
calmly,  "I  was  frightened,  and  greeted  you  in 


MADAME  LETITIA. 


261 


my  terror  as  the  emperor.  Pardon  me  for  it !  I 
ought  to  have  remembered  that  when  the  em- 
peror crosses  the  threshold  of  this  house,  he 
ceases  to  be  emperor,  and  is  simply  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  who,  as  it  behooves  a  son,  comes  to 
pay  his  respects  to  his  mother.  Hence,  I  ought 
to  have  greeted  you  at  once  as  my  son,  and  if  I 
did  not,  it  was  because  I  was  frightened,  for  I  am 
not  accustomed  to  see  any  one  enter  here  without 
Deing  announced.  Now,  I  have  overcome  my 
terror,  T  bid  you  welcome  with  all  my  heart,  my 
dear  son ! "  She  offered  her  hand  to  Napoleon 
so  proudly  that  the  emperor,  scarcely  aware  of 
what  he  did,  pressed  the  small  r/hite  hand  of  his 
mother  to  his  lips. 

A  gentle  smile  lit  up  the  beautiful  face  of  Ma- 
dame Letitia.  "  I  forgive  you  also  your  vehe- 
ment words,  my  son ,"  she  said ;  "  and  how  could 
I  be  angry  with  you  for  forgetting  for  a  moment 
that  you  are  here  only  my  son,  when  I  myself  re- 
membered only  that  you  are  the  emperor  ?  Let 
us,  therefore,  make  peace  again.  Napoleon,  my 
son,  I  bid  you  welcome  once  more  with  all  my 
heart." 

"  Even,  my  mother,  if  I  should  come  to  ask  my 
dinner  of  you  ?  "  inquired  the  emperor,  smiling. 

Madame  Letitia  was  silent  for  a  moment. 
"  Even  then  !  "  she  said,  after  a  pause.  •'  My 
son  will  be  content  with  what  I  am  able  to  give, 
and  he  will  pardon  an  old  woman,  who  attaches 
little  value  to  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  if  she 
has,  on  account  of  her  health,  but  a  very  plain 
dinner." 

"That  is  to  say,  we  shall  have  the  national  dish 
of  Corsica — rice  dumplings  baked  in  oil ! "  ex- 
claimed the  emperor,  laughing. 

"  So  it  is,"  said  madame,  merrily.  "  Ah,  I  see 
my  son  has  not  forgotten  his  native  Corsica;  then 
he  will  also  have  a  kind  look  for  poor  old  Cor- 
delia, who,  both  in  good  and  evil  days,  has  been 
the  most  faithful  and  honest  servant  of  our  house, 
who  frequently  carried  Xapoleon  Honaparte  for 
T'hole  days  in  her  arms,  and  when  he  was  sick 
eat  at  his  bedside  and  nursed  him  with  the  ten- 
derness of  a  mother.  I  will  tell  Cordelia  to  take 
t  iis  basket  away,  and  inform  the  cook  that  we 


have  a  guest."  She  rang  the  bell;  the  door  of 
the  adjoining  room  opened  immediately,  and  old 
Cordeli  i  entered.  ?!ie  stood  still  at  the  door,  and 
mournful  "lances,  HOT  on  Madame  Letitia, 
now  on  the  emperor. 

"  Well,  Cordelia,  do  you  not  greet  my  son  ?  " 
asked  madame.  "  He  is  not  the  emperor  to-day, 
but  comes  incognito  as  my  son  to  ask  dinner 
of  me." 

"And  listen,  dear  Delia,"  said  the  emperor, 
speaking  to  her  in  the  voice  of  a  child — "  listen, 
dear  old  Cordelia ;  afterward  let  us  go  and  play, 
and  gather  shells  on  the  sea-shore.  Shall  we  do 
so,  'Lia?" 

An  air  of  unutterable  happiness  illuminated  the 
face  of  old  Cordelia  when  Napoleon  repeated  to 
her,  in  the  voice  of  his  childhood,  the  words 
which  he  had  so  often  addressed  to  her.  She 
rushed  toward  him,  and,  sinking  down  before 
him,  seized  both  his  hands  and  pressed  them  to 
her  lips.  "  Now  do  with  me  what  you  like,  Na- 
poleon," she  cried,  in  the  language  of  her  native 
country,  v.-hile  the  tears  were  rolling  down  her 
cheeks,  "  I  belong  to  you  again,  with  every  drop 
of  my  heart's  blood.  Trample  me  under  foot, 
strike  me,  kick  me,  as  you  often  did  during  your 
childhood — I  shall  never  murmur.  I  am  as  a 
faithful  dog,  who  allows  himself  to  be  beaten, 

loves  his  master  to  the  last !  " 
"  Yes,  she  is  as  constant  as  the  sea  that  washes 
the  shores  of  our  native  country,"  said  madame, 
with  a  tear  in  her  eye.  "  You  may  count  on  both 
of  us,  Napoleon,  and  if  there  is  power  in  our 
prayers  you  will  always  be  victorious." 

The  emperor's  face  darkened.  He  had  for- 
gotten every  thing  for  a  moment ;  but  he  soon 
recollected  himself.  In  order  to  be  victorious 
and  prosperous  he  needed  not  only  soldiers  but 
money,  and  he  had  conic  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining this  from  his  mother.  He  disengaged  his 
hands  from  those  of  old  Cordelia,  and  motioned 
her  to  ri>i\  She  oli-y.i>l  in  silence,  quietly  took 
up  the  clothes,  aud  carried  them  off  in  the 
bosket 

dinner,"  said  madame 
to  her.     Cordelia  turned  and  looked  inquiringly 


262 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


at  her  mistress,  who  nodded  to  her;  Cordelia 
nodded,  too,  and  went  out  smiling. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  afterward,  the  emperor 
conducted  his  loving  mother  to  the  diuing-table, 
at  which  none  other  than  themselves  were  to 
be  seated.  When  they  entered,  the  emperor's 
eyes  glided  with  a  strange,  searching  look  along 
the  paintings  hanging  on  the  walls,  and  rested  for 
a  moment  on  the  landscape  which,  in  a  broad 
gilded  frame,  was  directly  opposite ;  then  a  faint 
smile  flitted  over  his  features,  and  he  turned 
toward  his  mother  to  address  a  few  pleasant 
words  to  her. 

The  dinner  commenced,  as  the  emperor  antici- 
pated, with  Corsican  rice  dumplings  baked  in  oil. 
He  partook  of  them  with  great  relish,  and  this 
favorite  dish  of  his  childhood  seemed  to  have  re- 
stored his  good  humor.  "I  believe,"  he  said, 
gayly,  "  I  am  still  able  to  read  as  well  in  your 
face,  mother,  as  I  could  when  I  was  a  boy,  and 
took  pains  to  discover  whether  or  not  I  had  de- 
served punishment  for  some  naughty  prank.  I 
believe  I  have  understood  your  mute  dialogue 
with  Cordelia.  Will  you  confess  the  truth  to  me 
If  I  tell  you  what  Cordelia's  glances  and  your  nod 
signified  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  guess  it." 

"Well,  then,  mother,  did  not  Cordelia  inquire 
by  her  glances  whether  she  was  to  send  to  the 
baker  for  bread,  and  whether  the  remnant  of  yes- 
terday's dinner  should  not  be  served  again  in 
honor  of  my  presence  ?  And  did  not  your  nod 
reply,  *  Yes  ? '  Was  not  that  the  meaning  of  it  ? 
Do  I  guess  right?" 

"Yes,  my  son,"  said  madame,  smiling;  "  I  see 
that  my  haughty  daughters  Pauline  and  Eliza 
have  made  you  familiar  with  the  habits  of  my 
household." 

44  They  have,"  exclaimed  Napoleon.  "  They 
told  me  Madame  Mere  had  every  day  only  three 
loaves  of  white  bread  brought  from  the  baker  for 
herself  and  Cordelia." 

"They  told  you  the  truth;  all  my  officers  and 
servants  receive  their  board-money,  and  three 
loaves  are  sufficient  for  us  two.  Ah,  my  son, 
how  happy  would  you  have  often  been,  when  still 


a  lieutenant,  had  you  had  only  one  of  the  three 
loaves  every  day  ! " 

"  Eliza  told  me  still  other  things,"  said  Napo- 
leon, casting  a  glance  toward  the  large  oil  paint- 
ing. "  She  told  me  you  had,  like  all  honest  bour- 
geoises, your  water-carrier,  who  furnished  every 
day  six  buckets  of  water." 

"  Eliza  told  you  the  truth  again.  It  is  still  the 
same  water-carrier  whom  we  employed  when  we 
lived  in  the  Faubourg  St.  Honore"  ;  he  is  a  faithful 
and  honest  man ;  why,  then,  should  I  withdraw 
this  little  patronage  from  him  ?  " 

"  But  you  pay  him  no  more  for  his  water,  now 
that  you  are  the  emperor's  mother,  than  you  did 
when  you  were  a*  poor  widow  with  nine  children." 

"  God  makes  the  water  flow,  and  it  is  the  same 
now  as  then.  Why  should  I,  then,  pay  more  for 
it?" 

"Eliza  told  me,  also,"  added  the  emperor, 
dwelling  with  singular  perseverance  on  the  same 
subject,  "  that,  instead  of  collecting  a  library,  and 
buying  the  books  you  read,  you  have  subscribed 
to  the  bookseller  Renard's  circulating  library." 

"There  are  very  few  books  that  deserve  the 
honor  of  being  bought,"  said  madame,  in  a  d,g- 
nified  tone. 

"And  is  it  true,  too,"  asked  the  emperor,  "tl.at 
you  have  the  books  brought  by  the  bookseller's 
clerk  to  you  every  week  the  year  round,  and  that 
you  have  the  same  exchanged  by  your  servants 
during  only  New- Year's  week,  in  order  thereby  to 
avoid  giving  a  New- Year's  present  to  the  clerk  ?  " 

"It  is  true,"  said  madame,  calmly.  "This 
clerk  is  not  poor,  nor  the  father  of  a  family  ;  I 
avoid,  therefore,  giving  him  the  money  which  I 
prefer  giving  to  poor  men." 

"  But,  madame,"  cried  Napoleon,  angrily,  "  you 
really  surpass  Harpagon,  and  Moliere  has  cause 
to  complain  that  he  did  not  know  you."  * 

"Moliere  has  assuredly  cause  to  deplore  that 
he  did  not  live  at  the  present  time,"  said  ma- 
dame, quietly,  "  for  if  he  lived  now,  he  would  have 
seen  on  the  throne  of  France  a  prince  who  is 
even  greater  and  more  illustrious  than  his  OWE 


*  Napoleon's  words.— Yide  Lo  Normand,  vol.  ii.,  p.  451 


MADAME   LETITIA. 


263 


Louis  XIV.  And  he  would  have  certainly  been 
glad  to  make  my  acquaintance,  as  I  am  the  mother 
of  this  great  man." 

"  The  mother  of  an  emperor,  and  yet  living  so 
parsimoniously  that  one  might  believe  your  son 
;.«m  to  starve!  And  still,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  you  receive  a  million  francs  a  year  for 
defraying  the  expenses  of  your  court.  Am  I 
right,  mother  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  son ;  I  receive  a  million  francs  a 
year." 

"  Ah,  madame,"  cried  the  emperor,  "  then  you 
must,  considering  your  economy,  lay  by  riches 
every  year  ?  " 

Madame  Letitia'.s  face  was  serious;  the  em- 
peror had  touched  a  chord  unpleasant  to  her  ear. 

"  No,"  she  said,  abruptly,  "  I  lay  by  no  riches, 
for  my  expenses  are  heavy." 

"  But  your  income  is  larger,"  exclaimed  Napo- 
leon. "I  am  satisfied  that  you  spend  far  less 
than  you  receive.  Whom  do  you  economize  for, 
madarae?" 

"Whom?"  asked  madame,  in  an  angry  voice. 
"  I  might  say  for  myself,  for  my  future,  for  that 
is  uncertain,  and  one  is  never  able  to  know  what 
may  happen.  But,  in  addition  to  myself,  I  have 
to  take  care  of  your  brother  Lucien,  for  your  ma- 
ty knows  well  that  he  is  poor." 

"  Because   he  would  not  accept  the   kingdom 

ich  I  offered  to  him." 

'  Because,  as  a  king,  he  would  not  be  a  de- 
dent  vassal,  the  mere  lieutenant  of  his  brother. 

hat,  sire!  Would  you  accept  a  kingdom  of- 
fered to  you  on  condition  that  you  should  never 
have  a  will  of  your  own,  but  always  obey  that  of 
another  ?  " 

"I  would  not,"  said  the  emperor,  smiling; 
"  but  I  am  the  emperor." 

"  You  are  Lucien's  brother,  and  he  is  no  less 
proud  than  the  emperor.  Let  us  say  no  more 
about  it.  lie  is  poor;  that  was  all  1  ffiihed  t<» 
say.  He  is  unable  to  endow  his  (laughters,  and 
I  have,  therefore,  taken  this  upon  myself.  You 
know  now,  tm  my  savings  are  for." 

"But  I  am  just  as  well  your  son  as  Lucien," 
•aid  the  emperor,  in  a  bland  voice;  "you  may 


very  well  have  laid  by  money  for  both  of  youi 
sons.  I  am  in  the  same  predicament  as  my 
brother.  I  am  poor,  and  need  money.  Hence  I 
come  to  you,  to  my  mother,  and  pray  you,  let 
me  have  some  of  your  savings.  I  know  you  have 
money ;  I  need  it,  and  you  would  place  me  under 
the  greatest  obligations  if  you  would  lend  me  a 
large  sum." 

Madame  Letitia  gravely  shook  her  head.  "  You 
are  mistaken,  sire,"  she  said;  "I  have  only  as 
much  as  I  need." 

The  emperor's  forehead  darkened  more  and 
more.  "  Madame,"  he  cried,  in  a  tone  of  irrita- 
tion, "  I  repeat  to  you,  it  is  a  great  favor  which  I 
ask  of  you ! " 

"  And  I  repeat  that  I  have  no  money  to  spare ; 
I  had  some,  but  sent  it  recently  to  Lucien,  who 
needs  it." 

"  Well,  then,  let  us  say  no  more  about  it,"  re- 
plied the  emperor,  rising,  and,  as  if  to  overcome 
his  vexation,  turning  toward  the  paintings,  and 
closely  inspecting  one  after  another.  "  You  have 
very  fine  paintings,  madame,"  he  said,  after  a 
pause. 

"  Yes,  the  work  of  great  masters,"  replied  ma- 
dame, composedly.  "  You  reproach  me  with 
being  very  parsimonious,  sire ;  I  have,  however, 
paid  very  large  sums  to  artists." 

"  I  am  especially  delighted  with  this  land- 
scape," said  the  emperor,  standing  in  front  of  the 
Swiss  landscape,  on  which  he  had  repeatedly  cast 
furtive  glances. 

"  Well,  it  is  very  fine  and  costly,"  said  ma- 
dame. 

The  emperor  was  silent,  and  looked  up  again 
attentively  to  the  painting.  He  then  turned  tow- 
ard his  mother,  who  stood  near  him.  "  Mother/ 
he  exclaimed,  "  I  asked  money  of  you,  and  you 
n-fn-vd  it,  Will  you  refuse  my  request,  too,  if 
I  ask  you  to  present  me  with  this  fine  land 
scap. 

"  On  the  contrary,"  said  madame,  "  I  am  glad 
to  be  able  to  fulfil  your  majesty's  wish.  I  shall 
have  the  painting  conveyed  to  the  Tuileries  thii 
very  day." 

••  No,"  exclaimed  the  emperor,  smiling,  "it  wilJ 


264 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUOHER. 


be  better  to  take  it  at  once  with  me  in  my  car- 
nage. You  are  so  economical,  mother,  you  might 
repent  of  having  given  me  so  costly  a  present, 
and  might  want  to  keep  it." 

"  Sire,"  said  madame,  solemnly,  "  the  emperor's 
mother  pledges  you  her  word  that  you  shall  re- 
ceive the  painting  this  very  day." 

"Madame,"  replied  her  proud  son,  no  less  sol- 
emnly, "  the  emperor's  mother  also  pledged  me 
her  word  that  she  has  no  money  to  lend  me,  and 
yet  I  venture  to  believe  that  she  has  laid  by  a 
great  deal.  Pardon  me,  therefore,  if  I  persist  in 
taking  the  painting  with  me. — Delia,  Delia  ! "  The 
door  of  the  corridor  opened,  and  old  Cordelia 
looked  in.  "  Run,  Cordelia,  and  tell  my  two 
yalets  de  chambre,  Constant  and  Roustan,  to 
come  hither  at  once." 

Cordelia  disappeared,  and  Napoleon  now  turn- 
ed his  head  slowly  toward  his  mother.  Madame 
Letitia  became  pale ;  large  drops  stood  on  her 
forehead ;  her  eyes  were  flashing  with  angry  ex- 
citement, and  her  lips  were  quivering.  But  over- 
coming her  agitation  she  forced  herself  to  smile, 
and  offered  her  hand  to  the  emperor.  "  Come, 
my  son,  let  us  go  into  my  cabinet  and  take  coffee. 
It  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  be  present  with  the 
servants.  Come,  sire." 

The  emperor  did  not  take  her  hand,  but, 
slightly  bowing,  drew  back.  "  Permit  me  to  stay, 
madame,  till  my  servants  have  taken  the  painting 
from  the  wall." 

Madame  could  not  suppress  a  sigh,  and  clutched 
a  chair,  as  if  she  needed  a  support. 

The  door  opened,  and  the  two  imperial  valets 
de  chambre,  Constant  and  Roustan,  entered. 
"Come  here,"  cried  the  emperor,  "take  this 
down  and  carry  it  into  my  carriage."  The  valets 
hastened  to  take  the  painting  carefully  from  the 
wall.  The  emperor's  glance  passed  over  the  spot 
which  it  had  covered.  He  saw  that  part  of  the 
Bilk  hangings  looked  somewhat  fresher  and  darker 
than  the  rest.  "  One  would  think  the  wall  here 
were  wet,  and  had  moistened  the  hanging?,"  he 
said,  laying  his  hand  on  the  dark  spot.  "  No," 
he  then  exclaimed,  "  the  wall  is  hollow  here !  Let 
us  see  what  it  means." 


Madame  uttered  a  cry,  and,  sinking  into  a 
chair,  closed  her  eyes. 

The  emperor  now  hastily  tore  off  the  dark  piece 
covering  the  wall,  and  behind  it  was  a  deep  square 
hole,  in  which  stood  a  rather  large-sized  iron 
box.  "  Ah  !  do  you  see,  madame,"  cried  the  em- 
peror, smiling  gayly,  "  I  discover  here  a  secret 
which  you  yourself  were  ignorant  of.  It  is  evi- 
dently a  box  which  the  former  proprietors  of  this 
palace  concealed  here  during  the  revolution  from 
the  rapacious  hands  of  the  Jacobins." 

Madame  made  no  reply ;  her  eyes  were  still 
closed,  and  she  sat  pale  and  motionless. 

"  The  box  is  heavy  !  "  added  the  emperor,  try- 
ing to  lift  it  up.  *'  Constant,  fetch  the  footmen 
to  assist  you  in  carrying  it  into  my  carriage. — I 
will  take  it  with  me,  madame,"  he  said,  turning 
toward  his  mother,  "  I  will  personally  examine 
its  contents."  At  this  moment  Constant  returned 
with  four  footmen,  and  the  six  men  succeeded  at 
length  in  lifting  the  iron  box.  "  Now  carry  it 
immediately  into  my  carriage,"  commanded  the 
emperor. 

Panting  under  their  heavy  load,  the  men  Itft 
the  room.  The  emperor  looked  after  them  unt  1 
the  door  closed.  He  then  turned  again  towari 
his  mother,  who  sat  motionless  and  with  her  eyes 
closed.  "  Farewell,  mother,"  he  said  ;  "  I  am 
anxious  to  examine  the  contents  of  the  box  which 
I  was  lucky  enough  to  find.  But  I  must  not  dare 
now  to  deprive  you  of  your  beautiful  painting. 
This  hole  in  the  wall  must  be  covered,  and  yot.r 
imperial  highness  might  not  at  once  have  another 
picture  worthy  of  replacing  this  landscape.  I 
thank  you,  therefore,  for  your  present,  and  take 
the  will  for  the  deed.  Farewell,  madame  !  "  He 
bowed  and  walked  slowly  toward  the  door.* 

Madame  Letitia  said  nothing,  and  made  no 
movement  to  return  the  emperor's  salutation. 
As  he  departed,  she  groaned  and  wept.  "  Five 
millions  !"  she  murmured,  after  a  pause — the 
savings  of  long  years  has  my  son  taken  from 
me.  Five  millions ! — the  dower  that  I  had  laid 
by  for  Lucien's  daughters— that  I  had  econo- 


*  Le  Normand,  "  M6moires,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  448. 


MADAME   LETITIA. 


265 


mized  for  the  time  when  these  days  of  prosperity 
will  end."  She  buried  her  face  in  her  h.iiuls  ami 
sobbed  aloud.  At  length  her  grief  seemed  some- 
what calmed,  and  she  raised  her  head  again. 
"  Well,"  she  said,  aloud,  "  I  formerly  supported 
ouy  family  of  nine  children  on  an  income  of  less 
.iian  a  hundred  louis  d'ors  a  year ;  if  need  be,  I 
can  do  so  again,  and  I  hope  I  shall  have  at  least 
so  much  left  that  Lucien  and  his  daughters 
will  not  starve.  I  must  be  even  more  parsimo- 
nious." * 

Two  days  afterward,  on  the  25th  of  January, 
the  emperor  left^Paris  for  his  army,  and  entered 
upon  the  last  struggle.  He  was  fully  aware  of 
the  dangers  threatening  him.  Hence,  prior  to 
leaving  Paris,  he  put  his  house  in  order.  The 
regency  by  letters-patent  was  conferred  on  the 
Empress  Maria  Louisa,  but  with  her  was  con- 
joined his  brother  Joseph,  under  the  title  of  lieu- 
tenant-general of  the  empire ;  and  Garni »aeeres, 
the  arch-chancellor,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
council  of  state.  The  emperor  then  received  the 
officers  of  the  National  Guard  of  Paris  in  the 
apartments  of  the  Tuileries.  The  empress  pre- 
ceded him  on  entering  the  apartments,  carrying 
the  King  of  Rome  in  her  arms.  Greeting  the 
officers,  the  emperor  said :  "  Gentlemen  of  the 
National  Guard  of  Paris,  I  am  glad  to  see  you 
assembled  here.  I  am  about  to  set  out  for  the 
army.  I  intrust  to  you  what  I  hold  dearest  in 
the  world — my  wife  and  my  son.  Let  there  be 
no  political  divisions ;  let  the  respect  for  prop- 
erty, the  maintenance  of  order,  and,  above  all,  the 
love  of  Franco,  ai.nnate  every  heart.  I  do  not 


E 


Lucien,  the  ablest  and  noblest  of  Napoleon's  brother*, 
ed  in  constant  dissension  with  him,  for  he  would  not 
mil  to  his  will.  He  declined  the  throne  of  NapU-s 

nse  the  emperor  imposed  the  condition  that  he 
should  govern  in  precise  accordance  with  the  orders 
given  him.  He  married  a  distinguished  and  beautiful 
Roman  lady,  and  when  Napoleon  afterward  offoml  him 
the  throne  of  Tuscany  on  condition  that  he  should  get  a 
divorce  from  hia  wife,  Lucien  refused,  and  preferred  to 
live  in  obscurity  outside  of  France,  and  to  dispense  with 
the  splendor  surrounding  his  family. 


disguise  that,  in  the  course  of  the  military  opera- 
tions to  ensu«\  the  enemy  may  approach  in  force 
to  Paris  ;  it  will  lie  an  affair  of  only  a  fev\  days : 
before  they  are  passed  I  will  be  on  their  flanks 
and  rear,  and  annihilate  those  who  have  dared  to 
invade  our  country.  Efforts  will  be  made  to  cause 
you  to  waver  in  your  allegiance  and  the  fulfilraen 
of  your  duty  ;  but  I  firmly  rely  on  your  resisting 
such  perfidious  temptations.  Farewell,  and  God 
bless  us  all ! "  *  Then,  taking  his  son  in  hia 
arms,  he  went  through  the  ranks  of  the  officers, 
and,  presenting  him  to  them  as  their  future  sov- 
ereign, he  exclaimed,  in  a  voice  tremulous  with 
emotion  :  "  I  intrust  him  to  you ;  I  intrust  him 
to  the  love  of  my  loyal  city  of  Paris  ! " 

The  National  Guard  responded  by  protestations 
of  fidelity  and  devotedness.  Cries  of  enthusiasm 
rent  the  apartments ;  tears  were  shed,  and  a  sense 
of  the  solemnity  of  the  moment  penetrated  every 
mind.  All  shouted,  "Long  live  the  emperor! 
Long  live  the  empress ! "  Maria  Louisa,  pale 
with  emotion,  her  face  bathed  in  tears,  leaned 
her  head  on  the  emperor's  shoulder;  and,  holding 
his  son  in  his  left  arm,  he  placed  his  right  around 
the  trembling  form  of  his  consort.  At  the  sight 
of  this  touching  group  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
National  Guard  knew  no  bounds.  They  wept, 
cheered,  and  swore  they  would  die  to  a  man 
rather  than  forsake  the  emperor — that  they  would 
allow  Paris  to  be  laid  in  ruins  by  the  artillery  of 
the  enemy  rather  than  surrender  the  empress  and 
the  King  of  Rome. 

But  this  enthusiasm  of  the  National  Guard  met 

with  no  response  beyond   the   Tuileries.     Paris 

maintained   an   ominous  silence,  and,  when  the 

emperor  rode  through   the   city   at    night,   the 

streets  were  deserted ;  no  one  had  awaited  him 

to  pay  him  homage  on  his  departure.     Paris  was 

>— its  sleep   that  of  exhaustion — and   the 

people  were  dreaming,  perhaps,   that   adversity 

.^toning  upon  them. 

*  Constant,  "  Memolre*,"  vol.  vi.,  p.  7. 


FALL    OF    PARIS. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

THE   BATTLE   OF   LA    ROTHIERE. 

TEE  morning  of  the  1st  of  February  dawned 
cold  and  gloomy ;  heavy  gusts,  driving  the  snow 
across  the  plain,  gave  to  the  landscape  a  sad  and 
dreary  aspect.  Silence  reigned  in  the  camps  of 
the  hostile  armies.  In  that  of  Napoleon  at  Bri- 
enne,  and  farther  down  the  valley  at  the  village 
of  La  Rothiere,  on  this  side  of  the  Aube,  the 
camp-fires  of  the  night  were  flickering  in  the  gray 
morning,  and  far  away  on  the  horizon  were  seen 
the  dark  outlines  of  the  castle  of  Brienne.  There 
Napoleon  had  passed  the  last  night  of  January, 
and  in  the  vicinity  encamped  his  troops,  scarcely 
thirty  thousand  strong,  the  remnant  of  that 
"  grand  army  "  which  the  emperor  had  so  often 
led  to  victory. 

In  the  camp  of  the  Silesian  army,  too,  all  was 
quiet.  It  encamped  beyond  the  Aube,  on  the 
heights  of  Trannes  and  Eclance,  in  the  vineyards 
and  the  forests  of  Beaulieu ;  it  was  enjoying  re- 
pose after  a  prolonged  exposure  and  privation. 
But  its  commander-in-chief,  Field-Marshal  Blu- 
cher,  seemed  to  have  no  need  of  rest.  Scarcely 
had  daylight  dawned  when  he  was  already  on 
horseback,  and  rode  to  the  crest  of  the  moun- 
tain, by  the  side  of  his  faithful  adviser  and 
friend  General  GneSsenau,  and  followed  by  his 
pipe-master.  From  the  crest  he  was  able  to  sur- 
vey the  whole  valley  of  La  Rothiere  and  Brienne, 
lying  at  a  distance  of  scarcely  four  miles. 

Blucher  raised  his  right  arm  toward  the  citj 


and  heaved  a  deep  sigh.  "  Gneisenau,"  he  fiaid, 
"  I  am  deeply  mortified  at  the  defeat  which  Bona- 
parte inflicted  on  us  two  days  ago.  I  cannot  get. 
over  it,  and  can  imagine  what  a  hue-and-cry  the 
distinguished  gentlemen  at  headquarters  have 
raised,  and  how  the  trubsalsspritzen  are  croaking 
again:  'Blucher  is  a  crazy  hussar  who  always 
wants  to  drive  his  head  through  a  wall,  and  yet 
cannot  get  through  it,  and  only  causes  us  all  a 
vast  deal  of  trouble.'  I  can  imagine  how  the 
peace  apostles  are  raising  their  voices  again,  cry- 
ing that  war  ought  to  cease,  and  we  should  rua 
home  because  we  did  not  gain  the  battle  of  Bri- 
enne. It  is  indispensable,  therefore,  for  us;, 
Gneisenau,  to  strike  a  good  blow  and  get  even 
with  Napoleon.  Yonder  the  fellow  stands,  with 
his  few  thousand  men,  showing  his  teeth,  as  if  he 
were  still  the  lion  that  needed  only  to  shake  bis 
mane  to  frighten  us  off  as  flies.  I  will  show  him 
that  I  am  no  fly,  but  a  man  who  is  able  at  any 
time  to  cope  with  him  and  such  as  are  with  him. 
Gneisenau,  we  cannot  help  it;  we  must  attack 
him  this  very  day.  We  must  silence  the  trub- 
salsspritzen,  in  order  to  accelerate  our  operations 
against  Paris." 

"You  are  right,  field-marshal,"  said  Gneise- 
nau ;  "  we  must  strike  a  decisive  blow,  and  com- 
pel the  gentlemen  at  headquarters  to  discontinue 
their  present  system  of  procrastination.  We 
must  show  Napoleon  that  we  have  also  passed 
through  a  military  school,  though  not  at  Brienne." 

"  It  makes  me  feel  angry,  Gneisenau,  that  we 
were  unable  to  show  him  that  at  the  very  city  of 


THE  BATTLE   OF   LA  ROTHIERE. 


267 


Briennc.  I  had  thought  how  well  it  would  be  for 
me  to  prove  to  him,  at  the  place  where  he  passed 
his  examination  and  received  his  first  commission, 
that  I  had  also  passed  my  examination  aod 
learned  something.  Well,  it  is  no  use  crying  about 
it  now ;  we  must  try  to  get  ever  it,  and  only  think 
of  the  best  manner  in  which  we  may  be  even 
with  him.  General  Wrode  must  join  us  with  his 
troops  at  noon  to-day,  when  we  shall  be  stronger 
than  Bonaparte,  Marmont,  and  all  his  marshals 
together." 

"  See ! "  cried  Gneisenau,  whose  eyes  were  di- 
rected to  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  "  the  troops 
yonder  have  put  themselves  in  motion ;  I  see  it 
quite  distinctly  now  that  the  view  is  clearer.  But 
they  are  not  advancing." 

"  Xo,"  cried  Blucher,  "  they  are  retreating ; 
they  intend  to  escape  us;  Bonaparte  wishes  to 
avoid  a  battle.  But  that  will  not  do;  I  must 
have  my  battle  here  !  How  am  I  to  get  to  Paris 
if  I  do  not  rout  his  forces  ?  how  am  I  to  pull  him 
down  if  the  present  state  of  affairs  goes  on  as 
heretofore  ?  A  blow  must  be  struck  now ;  we 
must  take  revenge  for  Brienne  to-day  !  " 

"  Wrede  will  be  here  with  his  troops  at  noon," 
said  Gneisenau,  thoughtfully;  "let  us,  therefore, 
attack  the  enemy  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  make  all 
necessary  dispositions  for  it.  Above  all,  couriers 
should  be  sent  to  headquarters." 

"  Yes,  Gneisenau,  it  is  your  province  to  attend 
to  all  that,  for  you  know  well  that  you  are  the 
ead  and  I  am  the  arm.     Consider  all  that  is  ne- 

sary;  I  know  only  that  Bonaparte  contem- 
plates a  retreat,  and  that  I  must  compel  him  to 
accept  battle.  I  have  felt  sad  enough  for  the 

st  three  days ;  for,  say  yourself,  Gneisenau,  is 
it  not  sheer  arrogance  for  Bonaparte  to  remain 
here  so  long  quietly  in  front  of  us,  as  though  he 
intended  to  give  us  time  for  uniting  our  forces, 
and  thought  we  were,  after  all,  too  cowardh  to 
defeat  him?" 

,  perhaps,  not  arrogance,  but  disgust  and 
weariness,"  said  Gneisenau,  thoughtfully.  "The 
prince  of  battles  spems  to  be  exhausted,  and  to 
have  lost  confidence." 

"  A  pretty  fellow  he  is  whom   misfortunes  at 


hea 

pla 
ace 
pa* 


once  exhaust,"  grumbled  Blucher,  "and  who  is 
courageous  only  as  long  as  he  is  successful !  But 
I  do  not  object  to  this  disposition  of  Bonaparte, 
for  every  thing  turns  out  now  highly  advantageous 
to  us.  The  Austrians,  the  Wurtembergers,  and  the 
Bavarians,  have  come  up,  and  will  cooperate  with 
us.  Gneisenau,  dispatch  your  couriers  to  head- 
quarters, that  the  monarchs  may  come.  Take 
out  your  note-book ;  I  will  dictate  to  you  what 
occurs  to  me,  and  what  are  my  plans  in  regard 
to  the  battle.— Halloo,  Christian !  give  me  a  pipe ! 
I  can  think  much  better  when  smoking !  " 

Christian  galloped  up,  and  with  a  grave  air 
handed  the  short  pipe  to  his  master.  "  Pipe-mas- 
ter," said  Blucher,  "  hold  a  good  many  pipes  in 
readiness  to-day,  for  there  will  be  a  fight,  and  you 
know  that  our  gunners  fire  more  steadily  when 
my  pipe  is  burning  well. — Well,  write  now,  Gnei- 
senau :  '  Precisely  at  twelve  the  troops  will  be 
put  in  motion,  and  descend  from  Traunes  into  the 
plain.  In  the  centre,  Sacken'a  infantry  will  ad- 
vance upon  La  Rothiere  in  two  columns.  The 
Austrians  form  the  left,  and  will  march  on  the 
town  of  Diouville.  The  hereditary  Prince  of  Wr.r- 
temberg's  corps,  composing  the  right  wing,  will 
penetrate  through  the  forest  of  Beaulieu,  and 
take  the  village  of  La  Gibrin.  Olsuwiew's  in- 
fantry and  Wassilchikow's  cavalry,  Sacken's  re- 
serves, will  follow  the  two  columns  of  the  centre. 
Two  divisions  of  Russian  cuirassiers  and  Rajews- 
ki's  corps  of  grenadiers  will  remain  in  reserve  on 
the  heights  of  Trannes.  The  Bavarian  corps, 
under  Wrede,  will  be  stationed  on  the  extreme 
right  wing.'  *  Well,  that  is  enough  ;  close  your 
note-book,"  said  Blucher,  blowing  a  large  cloud 
of  smoke  from  his  mouth.  "Every  thing  else 
will  come  of  itself  after  the  fight  has  begun.  I 
have  said  what  I  had  to  say,  and  now  commences 
your  work,  Gneisenau,  Dispatch  couriers  quickly 
to  the  headquarters  of  the  sovereigns,  and  may 
they  arrive  here  in  time,  and  not  again,  by 
their  hesitation  and  timidity,  spoil  our  game, 
coming  too  late  from  fear  of  coming  too  early ! 
Let  me  tell  you  that  I  am  not  afraid  of  Bona- 


*  Beitzke,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  lia 


268 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


parte,  with  his  young  guard  and  his  army  of  con- 
scripts. We  are  twice  as  strong,  for  we  have 
eighty  thousand  men,  and  his  forces,  I  believe,  are 
not  forty  thousand.  Besides,  we  have  allies  <vhom 
Bonaparte  cannot  have — the  good  God  and  His 
angel,  Queen  Louisa.  He  has  sent  us  to  put  an 
end  to  the  tyranny  of  the  robber  of  crowns,  and 
Queen  Louisa  is  looking  down  and  praying  for 
us  and  Prussia's  honor.  The  enemy,  however, 
whom  I  am  afraid  of,  is  in  our  own  flesh  and 
blood ;  he  is  creeping  around  the  headquarters 
of  the  monarchs,  and  singing  peace-hymns,  and 
raising  a  hue-and-cry  about  the  greatness  of 
Bonaparte,  representing  him  as  invincible,  and 
ourselves  as  insignificant.  In  that  way  are  all 
our  arms  paralyzed !  Gneisenau,  should  they 
hesitate  to  act  in  an  energetic  manner,  and  fail 
to  be  on  hand  in  time,  it  would  be  dreadful,  and 
I  believe  my  rage  would  kill  me  !  " 

But  Blucher's  apprehensions  were  not  to  be 
rerified.  All  the  corps  on  which  he  had  counted 
in  drawing  up  his  plan  of  operations  arrived  at 
the  stated  hour,  and  precisely  at  noon  appeared 
the  Emperor  of  Russia,  the  King  of  Prussia,  and 
Prince  Schwartzenberg,  with  their  numerous  and 
brilliant  suites.  The  monarchs  surveyed  the  posi- 
tion of  the  two  armies  from  the  heights  of  Trannes, 
and  had  Blucher  explain  his  plan  to  them  in  his 
brief  and  energetic  manner. 

The  Emperor  Alexander  then  turned  with  a 
gentle  smile  toward  Prince  Schwartzenberg,  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  allied  forces.  "  And  what 
do  you  think  of  this  plan  of  the  brave  field- 
marshal  ?  " 

•'  It  is  as  well  conceived  as  it  is  bold,"  said 
Schwartzenberg,  "  and  I  beg  leave  to  intrust  the 
command  of  the  whole  army  to  Field-Marshal 
Blucher.  I  renounce  the  privilege  of  directing  the 
operations  of  to-day,  and  leave  every  thing  to  the 
discretion  of  the  field-marshal." 

Blucher's  eyes  sparkled  with  delight,  and  a 
glow  suffused  his  cheeks.  "  Prince,"  he  ex- 
claimed, offering  his  hand  to  Schwartzenberg, 
"  this  is  an  honor  for  which  I  shall  always  be 
grateful  to  you.  You  have  a  generous  heart,  and 
know  that  I  must  take  revenge  for  the  disastrous 


affair  of  Briemie.  I  thank  you,  prince,  for  giving 
me  an  opportunity.  Now  I  shall  prove  to  their 
majesties  that  Bonaparte  is  not  invincible,  or,  if  I 
cannot  prove  it  to  them,  I  shall  die !  Hurrah  !  Let 
ud  begin  !  "  He  galloped  with  the  impatience  and 
ardor  of  a  youth  to  the  front  of  the  troops,  which 
put  themselves  rapidly  in  motion,  and  rushed 
like  a  torrent  down  the  heights  of  Trannes. 

Soon  the  artillery  commenced  to  boom,  and 
transmitted  Blucher's  battle-cry  to  Napoleon.  The 
emperor,  who  had  intended  to  retreat  with  his 
small  army,  in  order  to  avoid  a  fight,  now  halted 
his  troops,  and  formed  them  into  line.  As  the 
allies  were  advancing  with  great  impetuosity,  a  fur- 
ther retreat  would  have  been  equivalent  to  flight. 
Napoleon,  therefore,  accepted  the  battle,  and  his 
cannon  soon  responded.  The  engagement  raged 
with  murderous  energy ;  the  balls  hissed  in  every 
direction  ;  the  allies  rushed  forward  in  strong 
columns,  but  the  French  did  not  fall  back  before 
them.  In  the  midst  of  the  fearful  carnage  they 
stood  like  heroes,  sometimes  repulsing  the  su- 
perior enemy  with  sublime  valor;  and  when  they 
gave  way,  they  rallied  and  advanced  to  reconquer 
their  positions.  It  was  easy  to  see  that  it  wa3 
Napoleon's  presence  that  inspired  the  Frenc'i 
with  irresistible  courage.  Hour  after  hour  vast 
numbers  were  slain  on  both  sides,  and  while  the 
earth  was  trembling  beneath  the  strife,  the  snow 
fell  to  such  a  depth  as  to  shroud  the  dead  from 
view. 

The  contest  was  most  furious  in  and  around 
the  village  of  La  Rothi^re.  The  French  held  it 
with  the  utmost  obstinacy,  and  vainly  did  Sack- 
en's  corps,  which  had  been  repeatedly  repulsed, 
return  to  the  charge;  the  French  stood  like  a 
wall,  and  their  cannon  hurled  death  into  the  ranks 
of  their  adversaries. 

Blucher  witnessed  this  doubtful  struggle  for 
some  time  with  growing  impatience;  his  loud 
"  Forward  ! "  encouraged  the  troops  to  charge, 
but  their  assaults  were  in  vain.  "  Gneisenau," 
he  cried,  "  we  must  take  the  village,  for  La  Ro- 
thiere  is  the  key  of  the  position. — Halloo,  pipe- 
master  ! "  Hennemann  was  by  his  master's  side. 
"  There,"  said  Blucher,  taking  the  pipe  from  his 


THE   BATTLE   OF  LA  ROTHIERE. 


269 


: 


looutb,  and  handing  it  to  Christian,  "  take  this 
pipe,  and  stay,  do  you  hear,  on  this  spot !  I  shall 
soon  be  back,  and  you  will  seo  to  it  that  I  then 
get  a  lighted  pipe.  I  have  to  say  a  word  or  two 
to  the  French." 

"  You  may  depend  on  it,  field-marsLai,  I 
stay  here,"  said  Christian,  gravely  ;    "  you   will 
find  me  and  the  pipe  here." 

"  Very  well ;  and  now  come,  Gneisenau,"  said 
Blucher,  galloping  to  the  head  of  the  assaulting 
columns.  Turning  his  face,  full  of  warlike  ardor, 
toward  his  soldiers,  he  shouted :  "  You  call  me 
Marshal  Forward !  Now  I  will  show  you  what 
that  means ! "  He  turned  his  horse,  and,  bran- 
dishing bis  sword,  rushed  toward  the  village. 
The  soldiers  followed  him  with  deafening  cheers. 

Christian  Hennemann  looked  composedly  after 
them,  and,  putting  the  field-marshal's  pipe  into 
his  mouth,  he  murmured,  "  Well,  I  wonder  if  this 
will  burn  until  the  field-marshal  returns,  or  if 
I  shall  have  to  light  another  ! "  At  this  moment 
a  bullet  whizzed  through  the  air,  carrying  away 
the  pipe  from  his  mouth,  and  slightly  wounding 
him.  "  Well,"  he  murmured,  calmly,  "  the  first 
one  is  gone,  and  a  piece  of  my  head  to  boot ! 
Let  us  immediately  dress  the  wound,  and  then 
light  another  pipe ;  for  if  he  should  return,  and 
it  H  not  ready  for  him — thunder  and  lightning  ! " 
After  giving  vent  to  his  feelings,  the  pipe-master 
took  out  his  little  dressing-pouch,  stanched  the 
blood,  applied  a  plaster  to  the  wound,  and  wrapped 
a  linen  handkerchief  around  his  head.  "  Now  I 
am  all  right  again,  and  will  do  my  duty,"  said 
-tian,  closing  the  pouch,  and  opening  the 
box,  which  was  fastened  to  the  pommel  of  his 
saddle. 

The  fight  was  still  raging.  Night  came,  ac- 
companied by  a  violent  snow-storm,  so  as  to  ren- 
der the  muskets  useless.  As  on  the  Katzbach, 
Blucher's  soldiers  had  to  attack  the  enemy  with 

eir  swords  and  bayonets.     At  length  the  allies 

re  successful ;  the  French  were  overpowered 
and  driven  baek.  The  soldiers,  headed  by  Blu- 
chcr,  ruslu-d  exultingly  into  the  village  of  La 
Rothierc.  "Forward!"  shouted  the  field-mar- 
shal. "  Forward  !  "  repeated  the  soldiers.  They 


halted  in  the  middle  of  the  village.  Tie  French 
still  occupied  the  houses  on  both  sides  of  the 
principal  street,  and,  converting  every  building 
into  a  fortress,  they  fought  like  lions  against  the 
impetuous  enemy.  Blucher  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  flying  bullets,  but  he  did  not  notice  them. 
The  position  had  to  be  taken,  and  he  knew  that 
his  presence  inspired  his  soldiers  to  heroic  efforts. 
The  village  was  soon  on  fire,  for  the  wind  carried 
the  flames  from  house  to  house,  and  the  snowy 
plain  reflected  the  red  glare  far  and  wide.  The 
French  rushed  from  the  houses  in  hurried  flight, 
hotly  pursued  by  Blucher's  soldiers.  The  battle 
was  gained  !  The  enemy  evacuated  La  Rothiere, 
and  retreated  in  disorder  to  Brienne  and  across 
the  Aube. 

Blucher  could  now  return  to  his  headquarters 
and  inform  the  monarchs  of  a  victory.  He  rode 
back,  thoughtfully ;  and  Gneisenau,  who  was  by 
his  side,  was  also  grave  and  silent. 

"  Gneisenau,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  believe  we  have 
done  very  well  to-day  !  " 

"  Your  excellency  must  not  say  we,  but  7  have 
done  very  well  to-day,"  said  Gneisenau,  smiling. 
"  You  alone  conceived  the  plan  of  battle,  and  di- 
rected it ;  for  La  Rothiere  was  the  key  of  the 
whole  position,  and  it  was  Marshal  Forward  who 
took  it.  This  time  your  deeds  must  give  the 
name  to  the  battle,  and  it  must  be  called  '  the 
battle  of  La  Rothiere.'  " 

"  Well,  I  do  not  care,"  said  Blucher.  "  We 
have  gained  to-day,  then,  the  battle  of  La  Ro- 
thiere, and,  what  is  still  better,  we  have  shown 
the  French  in  their  own  country  that  Napoleon's 
invincibility  is  a  myth,  and  that  he  can  be  beaten 
as  well  as  any  other  general. — But  what  is  that  ? 
See  there,  Gneisenau !  what  sentinel  is  posted  on 
the  road  yonder  ?  " 

In  fact,  a  dark  form  on  horseback  halted  by 
the  roadside ;  the  flames  of  the  burning  village 
rose  higher,  and  shed  a  light  on  the  stranger. 
It  was  a  man  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  an  hus- 
sar; a  white,  blood-stained  handkerchief  was 
wrapped  around  his  head  and  half  his  face ;  his 
right  arm  was  also  bandaged,  and  in  his  mouth  wa* 
A  clay  pipe. 


270 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


"  It  is  the  pipe-master  ! "  cried  Blucher,  quickly 
galloping  up. 

"  Yes,  it  is  I — who  should  it  be  ?  "  grumbled 
Christian. 

"  But,  Christian,"  exclaimed  Blucher,  "  how  in 
Heaven's  name  do  you  look  !  And  what  are  you 
doing  here  ?  " 

"  I  am  waiting  for  Field-Marshal  Bluchor.  Did 
you  not  tell  me  that  I  was  to  wait  for  you 
here,  and  keep  the  pipe  in  order  ?  "Well,  I  did 
wait  for  you,  field-marshal.  And  you  ask,  too, 
how  I  look  ?  Just  like  one  around  whom  the 
blue  beans  have  been  whizzing  for  hours  past, 
and  whose  head  and  arm  have  been  scratched  a 
great  deal.  You  kept  me  waiting  a  long  time, 
field-marshal — more  than  four  hours  !  The  French 
have  shot  pipe  after  pipe  from  my  mouth,  and 
this  is  the  last  I  have.  If  you  had  not  come 
soon,  it  would  have  been  smashed,  too." 

"  No,"  said  Blucher,  smiling,  "  the  French  will 
not  break  another  pipe  of  mine  to-day,  Christian, 
for  they  have  taken  to  their  heels.  It  is  true,  how- 
ever, I  have  kept  you  waiting  a  long  time.  But 
that  was  the  fault  of  the  French ;  they  resisted 
with  the  greatest  obstinacy.  For  the  rest,  Chris- 
tian, you  had  a  pipe  of  tobacco  at  least  during 
the  whole  time  that  you  were  waiting,  and  did  not 
fare  so  badly  after  all;  as  for  your  wounds,  I 
shall  have  them  well  attended  to,  my  boy.  You 
have  behaved  as  a  brave  man,  and  stood  fire  as  a 
genuine  soldier  ought  to  do.  When  we  get  home 
I  will  relate  it  to  your  old  father,  and  he  will 
rejoice  over  it.  Now,  give  me  the  pipe ;  it  will 
be  the  last  that  you  will  fill  for  me  for  some  time 
to  come,  for  you  are  disabled  ;  your  right  arm  is 
shattered,  and  you  must  be  cured." 

"  Well,"  exclaimed  Christian,  "  with  my  left 
hand  I  can  fill  your  pipes.  I  am  and  must  be 
Field-Marshal  Blucher's  pipe-master,  and,  if  they 
do  not  shoot  off  ray  head,  I  will  not  give  up  my 
position ! " 

On  the  following  day  Blucher  received  at  the 
castle  of  Brionne  the  congratulations  and  thanks 
of  the  allied  monarchs.  The  Emperor  Alexander 
embraced  him,  and  his  eyes  were  filled  with  tears 
of  joyful  emotion.  "  Field-marshal."  he  Slid, 


"you  have  crowned  all  your  former  efforts  by 
this  glorious  triumph.  I  do  not  know  how  we 
are  to  reward  you  for  this.  But  I  know  we  must 
admire  and  love  you." 

King  Frederick  William  shook  hands  with 
Blucher,  and  a  smile  illuminated  his  features. 
"Blucher,"  he  said,  mildly,  "you  have  kept 
your  word ;  you  have  fulfilled  all  that  you  prom- 
ised us  at  Frankfort,  when  I  informed  you  of 
your  appointment  to  the  command-in-chief.  To- 
day you  have  blotted  out  the  disgrace  of  Jena. 
Have  you  any  wish  which  I  am  able  to  fulfil.  Pray 
let  me  know  it,  for  I  should  like  to  prove  to  you 
my  gratitude  and  love." 

"  I  have  a  wish,  and  before  it  is  gratified,  I  shall 
neither  sleep  well  by  night  nor  be  calm  by  day. 
Now  your  majesties  are  quite  able  to  grant  thi? 
wish  of  mine,  and  therefore  I  urgently  pray  both 
of  you  to  do  so." 

"  Tell  us  what  it  is  !  "  exclaimed  the  emperor ; 
"  1  am  anxious  to  grant  it  as  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, for  an  heroic  head  like  yours  must  not  lie 
uneasy  at  night,  and  a  childlike  heart  like  youra 
must  be  content.  Speak,  then !  " 

"Ah,  sire,"  said  the  king,  smiling,  and  fixing  a 
searching  look  on  Blucher's  bold  face,  "  sire,  be- 
ware of  promising,  for  then  he  will  leave  us  nc 
rest ;  he  will  not  even  let  us  sleep  at  night  until 
he  has  driven  us  to  Paris. — That  is  your  wish, 
Blucher,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  It  is  ! "  exclaimed  Blucher,  ardently.  "  That 
is  my  wish  ;  and,  as  your  majesty  has  called  upon 
me  to  tell  you  something  that  you  could  grant,  and 
as  his  majesty  the  emperor  tells  me,  too,  that  he 
would  like  to  gratify  me — I  say,  let  us  now  set 
out  by  forced  marches  for  Paris.  Let  us  advance 
with  all  our  armies  on  the  capital,  for  then  the  war 
will  soon  be  over.  I  implore  your  majesties,  let 
us  proceed  quickly.  Let  us  give  Bonaparte  nc 
time  for  heading  us  off;  but  let  us  out?trip  him 
moving  on  Paris,  and,  if  need  be,  take  the  city  bj 
storm.  When  Paris  falls  all  France  is  ours,  and 
the  war  is  over !  " 

"  Well,  what  says  your  majesty  ?  "  asked  Alex- 
ander,  turning  toward  the  king.  "  Shall  we  com 
ply  with  the  wish  of  our  young  madcap  ?  " 


THE  DISEASED   EYES. 


271 


"Sire,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  have  pledged 
him  my  word,"  said  Frederick  William ;  "  hence, 
I  must  keep  it." 

"And  I  assent  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  sire," 
exclaimed  Alexander;  "let  us  march  on  Paris, 
then  ;  but  we  should  agree  as  to  the  best  way  of 
doing  so." 

"  Well,  we  have  invited  our  generals  to  hold  a 
council  of  war,  and  I  believe  they  are  waiting  for 
us  now,"  said  the  king.  "  Come,  therefore,  sire  ; 
and  you,  Blucher,  pray  accompany  us.  One 
thing  is  settled :  we  shall  march  on  Paris  in  ac- 
cordance with  your  wish — only  we  have  to  select 
the  routes  which  the  various  columns  of  the  army 
Ore  to  take,  for  they  are  too  large  to  move  by  the 
same  road ;  they  could  not  find  the  necessary 
supplies  in  the  same  section  of  country.  We 
must  divide  them,  and  that  is  the  question  which 
we  shall  now  discuss  with  our  generals." 

"  I  do  not  care  about  that,"  replied  Blucher, 
merrily ;  "  if  the  chief  point  is  settled,  all  the 
re>t  is  indifferent  to  me ;  I  shall  obey  the  orders 
of  my  king,  and  be  content  with  the  route  selected 
for  me  and  my  corps.  The  point  is — we  must 
profit  by  our  victory  and  outstrip  Bonaparte  !  We 
must  take  Paris  ! " 


CHAPTER    XLVIII. 

THE     DISEASED     EYES. 

UPWARD  of  a  month  had  elapsed  since  the  vic- 
tory of  La  Rothiere,  and  Blucher's  ardent  wish 
had  not  yet  been  fulfilled  ;  the  allies  were  not  in 
Paris.     The  system  of  procrastination  had  again 
obtained  the  upper  hand  at  the  headquarters  of  the 
.     Austria  hesiti ted  to  use  her  power  in  a 
-ive  manner  against  Xapoleon,  the  emperor's 
son-in-law;  the  crown  prince  of  Sweden  wished 
to  spare  France,  and  was  still  in  hope  that  the 
3,  which  had  been  in  session  at  Chatillon 
the  4th  of  February,  would  conclude 
'  peace.     Among  the  very  attendants  of  the  Em- 
peror of  Russia  and  the  King  of  Prussia  this  peace 


party  had  its  active  supporters,  who  opposed  an 
energetic  policy,  and  wished  the  congress  of  Cha- 
tillon, and  not  the  army,  to  put  an  end  to  the 
war. 

Blucher  once  had  dared  openly  to  oppose  thes* 
"  peace  apostles,"  and  disregarded  the  instruc- 
tions received  from  the  allied  monarchs  to  move 
farther  back  from  Paris,  and,  instead  of  crossing 
the  Seine,  retreat  with  his  army  to  Chaumont  and 
Langres.  This  order  filled  the  field-marshal  with 
anger,  and  his  generals  and  staff-officers  shared 
it.  Great  as  he  was  in  all  his  actions,  Blucher 
took  the  bold  resolution  to  pay  no  attention  to 
the  retrograde  movements  of  Schwartzenberg  and 
the  crown  prince  of  Sweden,  but  to  continue  his 
march,  even  at  the  risk  of  appearing  in  front  of 
Paris  without  support. 

But  it  was  not  as  a  rebel  that  he  had  wished  to 
take  so  daring  a  step ;  on  the  contrary,  before 
moving,  he  wrote  to  King  Frederick  William,  and 
implored  him  to  fulfil  his  wish,  and  allow  him  to 
advance.  He  did  not  wait,  however,  for  the 
king's  answer,  but,  though  he  knew  that  the 
commander-in-chief,  Prince  Schwartzeuberg,  had 
already  commenced  retreating,  continued  to  march 
with  his  Silesian  army  alone  upon  the  capital  of 
France. 

The  monarchs  themselves  were  of  Blucher's 
opinion,  and  gave  him  full  power,  having  his 
army  reenforced  by  the  corps  of  Bulow  and  Win- 
zingerode.  With  his  forces  thus  increased  to 
twice  their  original  strength,  he  was  able  to  con- 
front Napoleon,  and  at  tick  Paris  even  without 
Schwartzenberg's  assistance.  But  the  fortune  of 
war  is  fickle,  and  he  did  not  continue  his  march 
without  experiencing  this.  On  the  7th  of  March 
he  fought  a  bloody  battle  with  Xapoleon  and  his 
marshals  between  Soissons  and  Craonne,  and,  to 
his  profound  regret,  was  defeated,  and  forced  to 
retreat, 

He  took  revenge  at  Laon,  where  he  and  hii 
brave  Silesian  anny  gained  a  victory  on  the  9th 
of  Maivh.  This  was  followed  t>\-  still  another. 
He  at  length  silenced  the  "  trubsalaspritzcn " 
and  "  peace  apostles,"  who  had  up  to  this  time 
raised  their  influential  voices  at  headquarters. 


272 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


All  felt  that  a  retreat,  after  this  great  victory,  was 
entirely  out  of  the  question,  and  even  Schwartzen- 
berg  and  Bernadotte  joined  in  Blucher's  "  For- 
ward !  "  and  marched  their  armies  to  Paris. 

But  the  brave  field-marshal  himself  was  at  this 
time  unable  to  join  in  the  movement.  Since  the 
battle  of  Laon  he  had  been  affected  with  a  violent 
inflammation  of  the  eyes,  aggravated  by  a  fever. 
Confined  to  his  dark  room,  he  was  obliged  to  re- 
main ten  days  at  Laon,  suffering  not  only  physical 
but  mental  pain.  For  how  could  he  redeem  his 
pledge — how  achieve  a  final  victory  over  Napo- 
leon— if,  half-blind  and  doomed  to  the  captivity 
of  a  sick-room,  he  could  not  march  with  his 
troops,  and  lead  them  in  person  into  battle  ? 
Regardless  of  the  warnings  of  his  physicians,  he 
tried  to  brave  his  sufferings,  and,  putting  himself 
at  the  head  of  his  troops,  again  advanced  with 
them.  Finally,  on  the  24th  of  March,  by  way  of 
Rheims,  he  arrived  at  Chalons.  But  the  inflam- 
mation of  his  eyes  had  grown  worse  on  the  road, 
and  gave  him  intolerable  pain  ;  the  fever  sent  his 
blood  like  fire  through  his  veins,  and  what  neither 
age,  nor  defeat,  nor  disappointed  hope,  had  been 
able  to  accomplish,  was  accomplished  by  sickness. 
He  grew  faint-hearted — his  disease  destroyed  his 
enthusiasm.  Longing  for  tranquillity,  he  remem- 
bered how  beautiful  and  peaceful  his  dear  Kun- 
zendorf  was,  how  kind  and  mild  the  sweet  face 
of  his  Amelia,  and  with  what  soft  hands  she 
would  wash  his  inflamed  eyes,  and  apply  the 
remedies. 

During  the  last  march  from  Rheims  to  Chalons 
he  constantly  thought  of  this.  At  length  he 
made  up  his  mind,  and  no  sooner  had  he  arrived 
at  Chalons  than  he  sent  for  Hennemann,  and 
locked  himself  in  his  room  with  him. 

"  Christian,"  said  Blucher,  in  a  subdued  voice, 
"  I  am  going  to  see  whether  you  are  really  a 
faithful  fellow,  and  whether  I  may  confide  some- 
thing to  you." 

"  Yery  well,  field-marshal,  put  me  to  the  test." 

"  Not  so  loud ! "  cried  Blucher,  anxiously.  "  Lot 
us  first  discover  whether  any  one  can  hear  us 
here."  He  opened  the  door,  and  looked  into  the 
antechamber.  No  one  was  there.  He  then  ex- 


amined the  dark  alcove  adjoining  the  sitting 
room,  which  was  empty,  too.  "  We  are  alone  ; 
no  one  can  overhear  us,"  said  Blucher,  returning 
from  his  recounoissance  to  the  sitting-room. 
"Now, pipe-master,  listen  to  me.  First,  however, 
look  at  my  eyes,  do  you  hear;  look  closely  at 
them.  Well,  how  do  they  look  ?  " 

"  Very  sore,"  said  Christian,  mournfully. 

"  And  they  have  not  grown  better,  though 
Voelzke,  the  surgeon-general,  has  been  doctoring 
them  every  day ;  and,  by  his  salves,  mixtures, 
leeches,  and  blisters,  causing  me  almost  as  much 
pain  as  the  eyes  themselves.  Nay,  they  grow 
rather  worse  from  day  to  day,  and  if  I  remain 
here  longer,  and  allow  the  physicians  to  torment 
me,  I  shall  finally  lose  my  eyesight  altogether, 
and  when  I  am  blind,  I  shall  be  of  no  account — 
unable  to  use  my  sword  and  fight  Bonaparte.  I 
am  afraid  the  good  God  will  not  permit  me  to 
pull  down  Bonaparte  from  his  throne.  He  knows 
I  should  then  be  too  happy,  and  therefore  says, 
'  Gotthold  Leberecht  Blucher,  I  have  permitted 
thee  to  bring  Bonaparte  to  the  brink  of  ruin ; 
now  thine  armies  are  close  to  Paris,  and  will,  with- 
out thee,  get  into  the  city.  Go,  therefore,  od 
boy,  and  have  thine  eyes  cured!'  Well,  I  will 
comply  with  God's  will,  and  go  to  some  place  and 
have  myself  healed,  where  they  know  better  how 
to  do  it  than  our  doctors  here.  I  have  been  told 
that  there  are  excellent  oculists  at  Brussels,  and 
Brussels  is  not  very  far  from  here.  I  will,  there- 
fore, go  there." 

"  The  field-marshal  intends  to  retreat,  then  ?  " 
said  Christian,  laconically. 

"Retreat!"  cried  Blucher,  angrily.  "Who 
takes  the  liberty  of  saying  that  Field-Marshal 
Blucher  intends  to  retreat  ?  " 

"I  take  that  liberty,"  said  Christian.  "Th/j 
field-marshal  intends  to  retreat  from  the  inflam- 
mation of  his  eyes." 

"  Why,  yes  ;  that  is  an  enemy  from  which  it  is 
no  disgrace  to  retreat." 

"  A  retreat  is  always  a  retreat,"  said  Christian, 
with  a  shrug,  "and  if  you  carry  out  your  inten- 
tion you  will  no  longer  be  called  Marshal  For 
ward!" 


THE   DISEASED   EYES. 


273 


u  I  do  not  care  to  be  called  so  now !  "  exclaimed 
Blucher.  "  The  inflammation  of  my  eyes  has  made 
me  desperate;  I  shall  lose  my  sight  if  I  stay 
here,  and  then  they  will  lead  me  by  the  nose  like 
a  blind  bear.  There  is  no  use  in  talking  any 
more  about  it ;  I  will  and  must  go.  If  you  do 
not  wish  to  accompany  me  say  so,  and  you  may 
stay  here." 

"  If  you  go,  then  I  will  too,"  said  Cnristian, 
with  his  usual  calmness,  "  for  where  the  field- 
marshal  is  the  pipe-master  must  be;  that  is  a 
matter  of  course.  I  have  pledged  ray  word  to 
my  father,  to  Madame  von  Blucher,  and  to  the 
good  God,  that  I  would  never  leave  my  general, 
and  it  makes  no  difference  if  he  is  field-marshal 
now.  If  they  do  not  shoot  me,  I  shall  stay  with 
my  field-marshal." 

"  Christian,"  said  Blucher,  offering  him  his  hand, 
"  you  are  a  dear  boy  ;  your  heart  is  in  the  right 
place,  and  it  is  always  the  best  thing  in  a  man. 
When  we  get  back  to  Kunzendorf  you  shall  lead 
a  very  pleasant  life,  for  I  can  never  forget  what  a 
faithful  and  excellent  young  fellow  you  have  been. 
n  you  will  go  with  me?  " 
Yes,  to  the  end  of  the  world,  general !  " 
Well,  we  shall  not  go  so  far  as  that — only  to 
where  there  are  good  oculists;  and 
when  th'-y  have  cured  me,  I  will  see  whether  they 
etill  need  me  here,  and  whether  every  thing  has 
then  been  done  to  my  liking." 

"  Oh,  1  believe  it  will  be  then  as  it  is  now," 
f  aid  Christian,  in  a  contemptuous  tone.  "  When 
Marshal  Forward  i^  no  longer  here,  things  will  go 
backward,  that  is  sure.  But  we  need  not  care, 
we  shall  go  forward  to  Brus.-- 

"  Yes,  to  I1.'  id  Blucher ;  "  we  set  out 

to-night ;  but  no  one  must  know  it ;  I  will  leave 
as  quietly  as  possible.  I  cannot  stand  bidding 
them  all  farewell,  and  listening  to  their  fine 
eches ;  I  will  leave,  therefore,  so  that  no  one 

;•  it  before  I  am  gone." 
•  •t  flight!  "  s;iM  Christian,  laconically. 

"  Secret  flight  ?  how  stupi-1 !  "  grumbled  Blu- 
l!  is  strain:*'  what  ridiculous  words  the 
boy  uses !     How  a  flight  ?     I   believe  I  am  no 
prisoner." 


18 


"No,  but  you  are  field-marshal." 

Blucher's  red  eyes  cast  an  angry  glance  on  the 
bold  pipe-master.  "  You  talk  as  you  understand 
it,"  he  cried  ;  "  when  I  am  a  poor  blind  fellow, 
swallowing  powders  and  using  salves  all  day,  I 
am  no  longer  a  field-marshal,  and  had  better  re- 
sign, not  waiting  to  be  deposed  by  a  few  polite 
phrases.  That  is  the  reason  why  I  am  going  to 
leave." 

"  And  I  leave,  too,"  said  Christian ;  "  but  as 
the  field-marshal  does  not  wish  me  to  say  any 
thing  about  it,  of  course  I  shall  not.  But 
how  are  we  to  get  away,  if  no  one  is  to  be  in- 
formed ?  " 

"  Well,  listen  !  I  will  tell  you.  I  have  already 
devised  the  whole  plan  of  operations,  and — but, 
hark  !  something  seems  moving  in  the  alcove,  as 
if  a  door  opened." 

"  There  is  no  door  in  the  alcove,"  said  Chris- 
tian ;  "  it  was,  perhaps,  a  mouse,  and  it  tells  no 
tales.  Inform  me,  field-marshal,  what  I  have 
to  do." 

"  Well,  listen,  Christian  ! "  And  the  field-mar- 
shal  began  to  explain  to  hip,  in  his  vivacioua 
manner,  the  whole  plan  of  his  departure.  Chris- 
tian  comprehended  it,  and  entered  very  seriously 
into  the  duties  of  quartermaster-general  to  his 
field-marshal. 

"  Do  you  remember  it  all  now  ?  "  asked  Blu- 
cher, at  the  conclusion  of  their  conference.  "  Do 
you  know  all  that  you  have  to  do  ?  " 

"I  know  all,"  said  Christian.  "In  the  first 
place,  I  am  to  go  to  General  Gneisenau  and  in- 
form him  that  the  field-marshal  is  sick  and  con- 
fined to  his  bed  to-day,  and  refuses  to  see  any 
one.  General  Gneisenau  will  mention  it,  of 
course,  to  Surgeon-General  Dr.  Voelzke,  who  will 
come  to  see  the  field-marshal.  I  am  to  tell  him 
tlv.it  he  is  in  so  much  pain  from  his  inflamed 
that  he  had  ordered  me  to  admit  no  one — that  he 
is  trying  to  sleep.  Then  I  am  to  come  back  to 
yon,  and  your  excellency  will  give  me  the  fare- 
well letters  to  General  Gneisenau,  whereupon  I 
am  to  pack  up  your  things  and  lock  the  bags. 
Wln-n  it  grows  dark,  I  am  to  carry  them  secretly 
into  our  carriage.  Then  it  will  suddenly  occur 


274 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


to  your  excellency  to  take  an  airing,  the  sun  hav- 
ing set,  and  therefore  unable  to  hurt  your  eyes. 
I  am  to  accompany  you,  and  we  shall  not  come 
oack." 

"  No,  we  shall  not  come  back,"  said  Blucher, 
thoughtfully.  "  Well,  every  thing  is  settled  now ; 
run,  and  attend  to  what  I  told  you.  We  shall  set 
out  at  seven  o'clock  to-night." 

Christian  hastened  away.  Blucher  looked  after 
him  with  a  mournful  glance  and  a  deep  sigh. 
"  The  die  is  cast,"  he  murmured  to  himself;  "now 
T  am  indeed  a  poor  old  invalid,  no  longer  of  any 
use.  God  has  refused  to  fulfil  my  dearest  wish  ; 
He  would  not  let  me  hurl  Bonaparte  from  his 
stolen  throne.  I  must  face  about  at  the  gates  of 
Paris,  and  creep  back  into  obscurity.  Well,  let 
God's  will  be  done !  I  have  labored  as  long  as 
there  was  daylight ;  now  comes  the  night,  when  I 
can  work  no  more.  Ah,  my  poor  sore  eyes  !  I — 
but  there  is,  after  all,  some  one  in  the  alcove," 
cried  Blucher,  springing  to  his  feet.  Again  he 
heard  a  noise  as  of  footsteps,  and  an  opening 
door.  He  bounded  into  the  alcove,  but  all  was 
etill ;  no  one  was  there,  and  no  door  to  be  seen. 
"  I  was  mistaken,"  he  said.  "  A  bad  conscience 
is  a  very  queer  thing.  Because  I  am  about  to 
do  something  secret,  I  am  thinking  that  eaves- 
droppers are  watching  me  and  trying  to  forestall 
me." 

It  was  seven  in  the  evening ;  the  sun  had  set. 
Field-Marshal  Blucher,  who  was  very  sick  all  day, 
now  intended  to  take  an  airing.  The  pipe-master 
had,  therefore,  ordered  the  coachman ;  and  the 
field-marshal's  carriage,  drawn  by  four  black 
horses,  had  just  come  to  the  door.  Blucher  was 
still  in  his  room,  but  all  his  preparations  were 
completed.  On  the  table  lay  two  letters — one  ad- 
dressed to  the  king,  the  other  to  General  Gneise- 
nau ;  the  carpet-bags  had  already  been  conveyed 
into  the  carriage,  together  with  the  pipe-box.  The 
invalid  had  only  to  wrap  himself  in  his  military 
cloak,  leave  the  room,  and  enter  the  carriage ;  but 
he  still  hesitated.  An  anxiety,  such  as  he  had 
never  known  before,  had  crept  over  him ;  and, 
what  had  never  before  happened  to  him,  his  heart 
beat  with  fear.  "  That  was  just  wanting  to  me," 


he  murmured.  "  I  have  become  a  white-livered 
coward,  whose  legs  are  trembling,  and  whose 
heart  is  throbbing  !  What  am  I  afraid  of,  then  ? 
Is  that  wrong  which  I  am  about  to  do?  My 
heart  has  never  acted  thus  even  in  the  storm  of 
battle.  What  does  it  mean  ?  Bah  !  it  is  folly ; 
no  attention  should  be  paid  to  it.  I  hope,  how- 
ever, that  no  one  will  meet  me  when  I  go  down- 
stairs, or  at  the  carriage  when  I  enter  it.  Let 
me  see  if  there  is  any  one  in  the  street."  He 
quickly  stepped  to  the  window  and  looked  out; 
there  was  no  one  in  the  street,  or  near  his  car- 
riage. "  I  will  go  now,"  said  Blucher,  turning 
again  toward  the  room.  "  I — "  He  paused,  and 
a  blush  suffused  his  cheeks.  There,  in  the  middle 
of  the  room,  stood  General  Gneisenau,  and  gazed 
at  him  with  a  strange,  mournful  air.  "  Gneise- 
nau, is  it  you?"  asked  Blucher,  in  a  faltering 
voice.  "  How  did  you  get  in  ?  " 

"  Simply  by  the  door,  your  excellency,"  said 
Gneisenau,  smiling.  "  Your  pipe-master  kept  the 
door  closed  all  day,  and  turned  me  away  by  in- 
forming me  the  field-marshal  had  ordered  him  to 
admit  no  one,  because  he  wished  to  sleep;  but 
my  desire  to  see  you  brought  me  back  again  and 
again,  and  so  I  have  come,  fortunately  at  the  op- 
portune hour,  when  the  Cerberus  is  no  longer  at 
the  door,  but  is  standing  below  at  the  carriage, 
waiting  for  the  field-marshal,  who  intends  to  take 
an  airing." 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  said  Blucher,  casting  an  anxious 
glance  on  the  two  letters  lying  on  the  table.  "  I 
do  intend  to  take  an  airing ;  good-by,  then,  Gnei- 
senau ! "  He  turned  toward  the  door,  but  Gneise- 
nau kept  him  back.  "  Your  excellency  must  not 
ride  out  to  night,"  he  said;  "I  implore  you  not 
to  do  so.  There  is  a  cold  wind,  and  you  must  not 
expose  your  inflamed  eyes  to  it.  You  are  not 
careful  enough  of  your  health ;  Surgeon-General 
Voelzke  complains  of  the  little  attention  you  pay 
to  his  prescriptions,  and  that  your  eyes,  instead 
of  getting  better,  are  growing  worse  and  worse." 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  grumbled  Blucher,  "  they 
are  burning  like  fire.  I  will  go  out,  therefore  ;  the 
night-wind  will  cool  them." 

He  turned  again  toward  the  door,  but  at  this  mo- 


THE   DISEASED  EYES. 


275 


ment  it  was  thrust  open,  and  Surgeon-General  Voel- 
zke entered  the  room.  "  I  am  told  your  excellency 
intends  to  take  an  airing,"  said  the  physl 
almost  indignantly.  "  But  I  declare  that  I  can- 
not permit  it.  You  have  intrusted  yourself  to 
rny  treatment ;  I  am  responsible  to  God,  to  the 
king,  to  the  whole  world — nay,  to  history,  if 
I  allow  you  to  rush  so  recklessly  to  destruction  ; 
I  will  not  suffer  it ;  your  excellency  must  not 
ride  out !  " 

"  I  should  like  to  see  who  is  to  prevent  me  ! " 
cried  Blucher,  striding  toward  the  door. 

"  The  physician  will  prevent  you,"  said  Voelzke, 
standing  in  the  doorway  with  his  large,  tall 
form.  "  The  physician  has  the  right  of  giving 
orders  to  kings  and  emperors,  and  Marshal  For- 
ward has  to  submit  to  his  commands,  too." 

"  I  do  not  think  of  it,"  said  Blucher ;  "  I  do 
not  permit  any  one  to  give  me  orders." 

"  Not  even  your  disease — your  inflamed  eyes  ?  " 
asked  Voelzke,  solemnly.  "Did  you  not  obey 
when  your  fever  and  inflamed  eyes  commanded 
you  to  remain  idle  at  Laon  for  ten  days,  although 
you  were  in  a  towering  passion,  and  were  bent  on 
advancing  with  the  army?  Well,  your  excel- 
lency, I  tell  you,  if  you  do  not  now  obey  me,  and 
consent  to  desist  from  taking  an  airing — if  you 
are  determined  to  ride  out  in  the  cold  night-air, 

e  more  powerful  than  I  am  will  compel  you  to 
y ;  and  that  one  is  your  disease.     You  may 

e  out  to-day,  but  to-morrow  it  will  command 
to  keep  your  bed  ;  the  inflammation  of  your 
eyes  will  make  you  a  prisoner,  and  you  will  be 
unable  to  flee  from  it,  notwithstanding  your  im- 

rious  will,  or  your  four-horsed  carriage." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Blucher,  "  you  put  on  such 

turn  airs  as  almost  to  frighten  me.     It  is  true, 
so  is  very  powerful,  and  this  soreness  of 

already  rendered  me  so  d- 
that—" 

"That   your    excellency  has    \v;itten 
intcrposi"!    (In.  •lining    to    the    • 

"But,  what  do  I  see?     There  is  one  a  1. 
to  me ! " 

give   it  to  me,"  cried  Blucher,  embar- 
rassed ;  "  now  that  you  are  here,  I  can  tell  you 


every  thing  verbally,  and  it  is  unncccssaiyforyou 
to  read  what  I  have  written." 

He  was  about  to  seize  the  letter,  but  Gneise- 
nau  drew  back  a  step,  and,  bowing  deeply,  said, 
"  Your  excellency  has  done  me  the  honor  of  writ- 
big  to  me.  Permit  me,  therefore,  to  read."  He 
stepped  quickly  into  the  window-niche,  and  opened 
the  letter. 

"  Well,  stand  hack  there,  doctor,"  cried  Blucher, 
"  let  me  out !  Do  not  make  me  angry ;  leave  the 
door ! " 

"  I  do  not  care  if  you  are  angry,  your  excel- 
lency," said  the  surgeon-general,  folding  his 
arms,  "  but  in  order  to  get  me  out  of  this  door- 
way you  will  have  to  kill  me." 

At  this  moment,  Gneisenau  uttered  a  cry  of 
terror,  and  hastened  toward  Blucher.  "  What ! 
your  excellency,"  he  exclaimed,  "  you  intend  to 
leave  us  ?  To  set  out  secretly  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  say  ?  "  thundered  the  physician. 
"  What  did  my  patient  intend  to  do  ?  " 

"  He  intends  to  forsake  us — his  army  that  wor- 
ships him,  his  friends  who  idolize  him,  his  king 
who  hopes  in  him — he  intends  to  leave  us  all !  " 
said  Gneisnau,  mournfully.  "  It  is  written  here, 
doctor  ;  I  may  mention  it  to  you,  for  you  are  one 
of  our  most  devoted  friends." 

"  And  he  intends  also  to  leave  his  physician ; 
he  will  go,  and  get  blind  ! "  exclaimed  Voelzke,  re- 
proachfully. 

"  Well,  it  is  precisely  because  I  do  not  wish 
to  get  blind  that  I  must  move  from  here,"  said 
Blucher,  who  had  now  recovered  his  firmness,  and 
felt  relieved,  since  his  secret  had  been  disclosed. 
"  What  am  I,  a  poor  blind  old  man,  to  do  longer 
in  the  field  ?  I  am  fit  for  nothing.  In  the  end  I 
.-hall  perhaps  fare  like  old  Kutusoff,  whom  they 
dragged  along  with  the  army.  Thus  would  they 
ie  when  I  am  no  longer  myself."* 

"  But,"  said  the  physician,  "  your  excellency  ia 
not  blind ;  you  will  bo  well  in  two  weeks  if  you 
only  resolve  to  comply  with  my  prescriptions,  use 
the  i  .u,  anJ  punctually  obey  my 


*  Blucher's  words.— Vide  Varnhagen,  "Prince  Blucher 
of  Wahlstatt,''  p.  378. 


276 


NAPOLEON   AND   BLUCHER. 


instructions.  You  intend  to  go  to  Brussels,  where 
you  will  certainly  find  celebrated  physicians  ;  but 
they  do  not  know  you;  they  will  oniy  doctor 
your  eyes,  not  suspecting  that  the  seat  of 
your  disease  is  in  your  nerves,  and  that  your 
eyes  are  unhealthy  because  your  mind  is  suffer- 
ing. And  it  will  suffer  still  more  when  you  have 
deserted  your  army,  your  friends — nay,  I  may 
say,  your  duty.  The  strange  surroundings,  the 
want  of  care,  the  unknown  physicians,  your  anx- 
iety at  being  ignorant  of  what  the  army  is  doing 
— all  this  will  torture  your  soul,  and  aggravate 
the  disease  of  your  eyes." 

"  It  is  true,  I  shall  be  very  lonely  in  a  foreign 
city,"  said  Blucher,  thoughtfully  ;  "  but  it  is,  after 
all,  better  than  to  stay  here  as  a  useless,  blind  old 
man.  I  can  never  again  command  an  army  or 
direct  a  battle." 

"  If  you  cannot  command  an  army  in  person, 
you  can  by  your  words,"  exclaimed  Gneisenau ; 
*'  and  if  you  cannot  direct  the  battle  with  your 
arms,  you  can  do  so  with  your  spirit ;  for  that 
fires  our  hearts  as  long  as  you  are  with  us,  and 
bids  defiance  to  the  adversaries  and  hesitating 
diplomatists.  If  your  person  leaves  us,  your 
spirit  does  also,  and  with  Marshal  Forward  we 
lose  all  prospect  of  marching  forward.  Consider 
this,  your  excellency ;  consider  that  you  endanger 
not  only  the  welfare  of  your  army,  but  the  suc- 
cess of  the  war ;  for  when  you  are  not  present, 
all  will  go  wrong." 

"  "Well,  you  will  be  here,  Gneisenau,"  said 
Blucher;  "you  are  half  myself;  you  know  my 
thoughts  just  as  well  as  I  do — nay,  you  often 
know  them  much  better!  You  will,  therefore, 
carry  on  all  just  as  though  I  were  still  here." 

"But  shall  I  have  the  power  to  do  so  ?  "  asked 
Gneisenau.  "  Your  excellency  did  not  take  into 
the  account  that  when  you  leave  the  army,  aud 
give  up  your  position  as  commander-in-ehtef,  an- 
other general  must  be  appointed  in  your  stead. 
Who  will  receive  this  nomination?  The  senior 
general  is  Langeron,  and  do  you  consider  him 
qualified  to  replace  you  ?  " 

"  Well,  that  would  be  a  pretty  thing,  if 
he  should  become  command  er-iu-chief!"  cried 


Blucher.  "The  confusion  and  wrangling  that 
would  ensue  would  baffle  description;  for  York 
and  Bulow  would  be  even  more  disobedient  to 
him  than  they  are  to  me." 

"  But  he  would  have  to  take  command  of  the 
army  until  orders  from  headquarters  arrived  ap- 
pointing another  general-in-chief.  We  might  have 
to  wait  a  long  time ;  for  we  are  distant  from  the 
allied  monarehs  now,  and  they,  moreover,  will  not 
hasten  to  make  that  appointment.  Until  this  is 
done,  Langeron  will  command  the  army,  and 
thereby  I,  the  quartermaster-general,  as  well  as 
Colonels  Muffling  and  Grolman,  will  be  completely 
paralyzed  in  the  discharge  of  our  duties,  or  even 
lose  our  positions,  which  your  excellency  has  al- 
ways said  we  filled  to  your  satisfaction,  and  in  a 
manner  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  the  army.  If 
you  go  now,  you  thereby  deprive  three  men  of 
their  places,  although  they  feel  strong  enough  yet 
to  serve  their  country." 

"  It  is  true,  I  have  not  thought  of  that,"  said 
Blucber,  embarrassed.  "  It  did  not  occur  to  me 
that  I  should  have  a  successor  here,  and  that  Le 
might  be  so  stupid  as  to  be  unable  to  apprecia"  e 
my  Gneisenau,  and  the  brave  Colonels  Muffling 
and  Grolman.  No,  no,  that  will  not  do  ;  Langercn 
must  not  become  commander-in-chief." 

"  If  you  leave  us,  he  will  surely  have  that  posi- 
tion, and  our  brave  Silesian  army  will  then  Ira 
headed  by  a  Russian.  No,  field-marshal,  yon 
must  not  go.  You  have  no  right  to  quit  the  arm  v 
so  arbitrarily,  and  without  the  king's  permis- 
sion ! " 

"  Well,  I  should  like  to  see  who  would  prevent 
me  ! "  cried  Blucher,  defiantly. 

"  Your  noble  soul,  your  devotion  to  duty,  and 
your  love  of  country,  will  prevent  you,"  said 
Gneisenau.  "  You  will  refuse  to  abandon  your 
work  before  it  is  completed.  You  will  not  incur 
the  disgrace  of  confessing  to  all  the  world  that  you 
are  unable  to  fulfil  your  word — not  to-  rest  before 
having  overthrown  Napoleon,  and  made  your  en- 
trance rnto  Paris.  Nor  will  you  tarnish  your 
glory  on  account  of  your  eyes.  You  will  not  be- 
come a  faithless  lather  and  friend  to  your  soldiers, 
whom  you  have  so  often  greeted  as  your  children^ 


THE   DISEASED   EYES. 


277 


mil  who  have  always  confided  in  you ;  nor  will 
you  break  our  courage  and  paralyze  our  souls  by 
deserting  us  in  this  manner." 

"  It  is  true,  I  did  not  think  sufficiently  on 
this  matter,"  murmured  Blucher  to  himself. — 
"  Yoelzke,"  he  then  cried  aloud,  "  you  pledge  me 
your  word  of  honor  that  you  can  cure  me  ?  " 

"  I  swear  it  to  your  excellency  by  all  that  is 
sacred  that,  if  you  take  care  of  yourself,  and  com- 
ply with  my  prescriptions,  you  will  be  cured  in  the 
course  of  two  weeks." 

"  Well,"  said  Blucher,  after  a  short  reflection, 
in  that  case  I  will  yield,  and  stay." 
"  Heaven  be  praiaed,  your  excellency  !  "   cried 
Gneisenau,  tenderly  embracing  Blucher,  "  you  are 
etill  my  noble  field-marshal,  who  will  not  desert 
hi*  army,  his  fatherland,  and  his  friends,  for  the 
sake  of  his  individual  comfort." 

"  Yes,  I  will  stay,"  said  Blucher ;  "  but  as  I  have 
to  ob<;y  the  grim  doctor  there,  and  submit  to  his 
treatment  thoroughly,  as  a  matter  of  course  I  can- 
.iot  work  and  make  the  necessary  dispositions, 
:>ut  leave  this  to  my  head — to  Gneisenau  alone.  I 
'en  1  you  my  name  for  two  weeks,  and  know  that 
you  will  make  good  use  of  it.  But  if  at  the  end 
of  that  time,  doctor,  I  am  not  yet  well,  then,  be- 
ware 1  May  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  your  soul ! 
for  you  will  certainly  get  yourself  into  trou- 
ble. " 

"  Your  excellency,"  cried  a  loud  voice  outside, 
this  moment — "your  excellency,  are  you  not 
ling   at  all  ? "     The   door  of  the    anteroom 
violently   thrust   open,  and  the  pipe-master 
ired   on   the  threshold.     "It  is  past  eight 
?k,"  he  exclaimed,  "  and — "     lie  paused  on 
i;  the  two  gentlemen,  and  was  about  to 
ire  very  quickly. 

"  Come  here,  pipe-master,"  exclaimed  Blucher, 
"come  here  and  look  at  me.  Now  tell  me,  pipe- 
toaster,  have  you  been  a  chatterbox,  after  all,  and 
told  these  two  gentlemen  what  was  the  object  of 
our  airing  ?  " 

"No,  your  ,    I  have  not  uttered  a 

about  it  to  any  one,"  replied  the  pipe-in, is- 
er,  solemnly.     "  I  have  been  as  dumb  as  a  fish  ; 
•cret  have  I  complained  of  my  d; 


and,  when  that  did  not  relieve  me,  and  I  still  felt 
as  though  my  heart  would  burst,  I  did  what  I  have 
learned  to  do  from  the  field-marshal:  I  went  to 
my  room,  closed  the  door,  and  swore  in  the  most 
fearful  manner !  That  relieved  my  heart,  and  I 
proceeded  to  do  all  your  excellency  charged  me 
with." 

"First,  therefore,  you  had  to  swear?"  asked 
Blucher,  drawing  his  long  mustache  through  his 
fingers.  "You  were,  then,  greatly  dissatisfied 
with  my  departure  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  conceal  it  from  your  excellency.  I 
told  you  honestly  that  you  would  no  longer  be 
called  Marshal  Forward  if  you  retreated." 

"  Yes,  retreat — that  is  just  what  he  said,"  ex- 
claimed Blucher,  laughing,  and  turning  again 
toward  the  two  gentlemen ;  "  and  when  I  told  him 
I  would  leave  the  army  and  set  out  for  Brussels 
he  remarked  that  it  was  a  secret  flight." 

"  The  pipe-master  is  an  honest  man,  who  loves 
his  master,"  said  Gneisenau,  kindly  smiling  on 
him.  "  I  have  often  and  urgently  begged  him  to- 
day to  announce  me  to  the  field- marshal ;  but  he 
persisted  in  replying  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  do 
so,  and  that  he  was  ordered  to  admit  no  one." 

"  And  I  would  have  given  my  little-finger,  if  I 
could  have  admitted  General  Gneisenau,  and  Dr. 
Yoelzke,  too ;  for  I  knew  that,  as  soon  as  they 
would  be  with  the  field-marshal,  his  departure 
would  not  be  very  soon.  As  they  are  here  now — 
though  I  do  not  know  how  they  got  here  so  un- 
e\i>e, -tedly — I  suppose,  field-marshal,  we  shall  not 
set  out,  and  I  ma?  send  the  horses  back  to  the 
stable  ?  " 

"  Yes,  you  may,"  said  Blucher.  "  But  wait, 
Christian,  do  not  go  yet ;  I  have  first  to  say  a 
few  words  to  these  gentlemen,  and  you  may  listen. 
I  will  stay  here,  then,  but  on  one  condition.  Will 
you  fulfil' it?" 

"  Yes,  your  excellency,"  cried  Gneisenau  and 
ime  time. 

••  Well,  tell  me,  then,  how  did  you  discover  that 
I  intended  to  start  to  day,  the  pipe-master  having 
said  nothing  about  it  to  you  ?  For  I  shall  never 
believe  that  both  of  you  could  happen  to  come 
to  me  at  so  uuu.-aui  .tu  hour,  and  without  any 


278 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


reason.  Reply — who  told  you  that  I  was  about 
to  leave  ?  " 

"  You  yourself,  your  excellency,"  said  Surgeon- 
General  Voelzke. 

"What,  I!  What  nonsense  is  this!"  cried 
Blucher,  laughing. 

"  Yes,  I  beard  it  from  yourself.  Do  you  not 
remember  that  you  heard  a  mouse  rustle  in  your 
alcove  ?  " 

"  To  be  sure,  I  did ;  I  heard  it  twice." 

"Well,  then,  the  mouse  was  myself!  I  discov- 
ered a  small  secret  side-door  in  your  room,  and 
desired  to  know  whither  it  led.  I  therefore  thrust 
it  open,  and  was  in  your  alcove  ;  just  as  I  entered 
I  beard  your  voice,  saying,  '  It  is  settled,  then, 
Christian,  I  shall  set  out  for  Brussels  to-night, 
but  no  one  must  know  a  word  about  it ! ' — 
Your  excellency,  I  confess  my  crime  :  I  stood  and 
listened ;  only  when  the  pipe-master  left  your  room 
did  I  softly  creep  away,  too,  and  hasten  to  General 
Gneisenau  to  inform  him  of  what  I  had  heard." 

"Let  us  examine  the  alcove  more  carefully, 
pipe-master,"  said  Blucher,  "  and  see  whether 
there  is  not  somewhere  else  a  secret  door.  Well, 
you  may  go  now,  Hennemann,  and  send  the  horses 
back  to  the  stable." 

"  Heaven  be  praised  !  "  exclaimed  Christian, 
hastening  out  of  the  room.  But  scarcely  had  he 
closed  the  door,  when  he  thrust  it  open  again. 
"  Field-marshal,"  he  said,  "  General  von  Pietro- 
witch,  adjutant  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  wishes 
to  see  your  excellency  immediately." 

"  Come  in,  general,"  exclaimed  Blucher ;  and, 
offering  his  hand  to  the  officer,  he  asked  hastily, 
"  tell  me,  in  the  first  place,  general,  whether  you 
bring  good  or  bad  news  ?  " 

"  I  believe  I  bring  what  Marshal  Forward 
would  call  good  news,"  said  the  general,  smiling. 
"  I  come  as  a  messenger  from  the  emperor  my 
master,  and  the  king  your  master,  and  am  com- 
missioned to  inform  you  of  the  determination 
taken  at  headquarters,  and  to  obtain  your  consent 
and  cooperation." 

"  Is  it  a  secret  mission?  "    asked  Gneisenau. 

"  On  the  contrary,  the  whole  army  will  have  to 
hear  it  to-night,"  said  the  general.  "My  first 


news,  then,  is,  that  the  congress  of  Chatillon  wts 
dissolved  on  the  19th  of  March." 

"  Without  leading  to  any  results  ?  "  asked  Bin- 
cher,  breathlessly.  "  Without  agreeing  on  a 
treaty  of  peace,  or  an  armistice?" 

"  Nothing  of  the  kind,  your  excellency.  The 
congress  has  had  an  entirely  opposite  result — the 
speedy  and  energetic  prosecution  of  the  war.  All 
the  diplomatists,  and  the  Emperor  Francis  with 
them,  after  the  dissolution  of  the  congress,  re- 
tired southward  to  Dijon." 

"And  Schwartzenberg?"  cried  Blucher. 

"  Prince  Schwartzenberg  remained,  and  held  a 
council  of  war  with  the  monarchs  yesterday  near 
Yitry.  The  result  of  this  I  am  commissioned  to 
communicate  to  you.  The  resumption  of  the  of- 
fensive against  Paris  has  been  decided  upon. 
Prince  Schwartzenberg  agrees  with  the  sovereigns 
that  Paris  is  the  decisive  point,  and  that  it  is  all- 
important  for  us  to  cut  off  Napoleon  from  the 
capital,  and  take  the  city  before  he  is  able  to 
reach  it.  Prince  Schwartzenberg,  therefore,  seeds 
word  to  your  excellency  that  from  this  day  all  his 
standards  are  turned  toward  Paris,  and  that  the 
army  of  Bohemia  is  marching  in  three  columns 
To-night  they  encamp  at  F&re  Champenoise, 
where  the  headquarters  of  the  allies  are  to  be. 
Now,  Prince  Schwartzenberg  invites  you  to  parti- 
cipate with  the  Silesian  army  in  this  advance, 
starting  at  once,  and  advancing  by  the  road  of 
Montrnirail  and  La  Ferte~-sous-Jouarre,  and  then 
form  a  connection  with  the  army  of  Bohemia."* 

"Yes,  I  shall  certainly  do  so,"  joyfully  cried 
Blucher.  "  Hurrah  !  This  is  good  news ;  now 
the  word  is  not  only  with  us,  but  everywhere, 
'  Forward ! '  Tell  their  majesties,  and,  above  all, 
Prince  Schwartzenberg,  that  they  have  made  me 
very  happy,  and  have  performed  a  truly  miracu- 
lous cure.  I  was  sick  and  desponding;  now, 
since  you  have  come,  I  am  again  well  and  in  good 
spirits.  I  feel  no  longer  any  pain,  and  my  eyea 
will  be  all  right  again,  now  that  they  know  that 
they  are  to  see  the  city  of  Paris.  I  thought  that 
it  would  come  to  this — that  my  brave  brothei 

*  Beitzke,  voL  iii.,  p.  431. 


ON  TO  PARIS! 


279 


Schwartzenberg  would  at  length  agree  with  me. 
hall  soon  now  put  an  end  to  the  war.     Bo- 
naparte must  be  dethroned,  and  that  speedily."  * 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 
ox  TO  PARIS! 

NAPOLEON'S  courage  was  not  yet  paralyzed ;  he 
had  not  yet  given  up  the  struggle.  His  indom- 
itable heart  was  still  wrestling  with  adversity, 
and  hoping  that  he  would  be  able  to  overcome  it. 
It  is  true,  the  disastrous  battle  of  Bar-sur-Aube, 
where  the  army  of  Bohemia  had  gained  a  victory 
on  the  20th  of  March,  had  greatly  weighed  him 
down ;  but  a  few  days  sufficed  to  restore  his  de- 
termination and  energy.  On  the  26th,  when  he 
arrived  with  his  army  at  St.  Dizier,  he  had  al- 
ready devised  new  plans,  and  was  again  resolved 
^  give  battle  to  the  allies.  "  We  are  still  strong," 
he  said  to  Caulaincourt,  who  had  just  joined  him 
at  St.  Dizier.  "  We  have  upward  of  fifty  thou- 
;;in<l  men  here.  I  have  Issued  orders  to  M;r 
Marmont  and  Victor,  as  well  as  to  all  reenforcc- 
ta  that  are  on  the  road  from  Paris,  to  joiu 
our  army.  When  they  arrive,  my  forces  will  be 
v  thousand,  and  the  allies  will  not  dare 
march  on  Paris,  where  they  will  find  me.  If  I  can 
now  induce  them  to  hesitate,  and  retard  their  op- 
orations  a  short  time,  by  drawing  reinforcements 
>m  the  neighboring  foi  tresses  of  the  Meuse  and 
lie,  I  shall  increase  my  army  to  upward 
one  hundred  thousand,  and  it  will  then  be 
fur  me  to  delay  tin:  progress  of  the  enemy 
ntly  renewed  attacks,  and  thus  prolong 
war." 

"  But  I  am  afraid,  sire,  you  labor  umU-r  a  <k-lu- 
as  to  one  point :  that  it  is  still  possible  for 
lay  tin    progKM  of  the  allies  by  any 
in-  whatever,"  sighed  Caulaincourt.     "I  have 
uninci]  every  thing  on  my  trip  to  your  majes- 


Blucher's  own  words. — Vide  Varnhngen  von  Ens*.*, 
luclicr,"  p.  375. 


ty's  headquarters ;  I  have  conversed  with  every 
prisoner  fallen  into  the  hands  of  our  troops,  and 
I  do  not  believe  that  the  army  of  Bohemia  is  in 
the  rear  of  your  majesty,  but  that  it  has  out- 
stripped you,  and  is  already  on  the  road  to 
Pans." 

Napoleon  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  stepped 
to  the  door,  which  he  opened,  shouting,  "The 
mayor  of  St.  Dizier ! "  The  corpulent  form  of 
the  mayor,  who  greeted  the  emperor  with  awk- 
ward obeisances,  appeared  immediately.  "  Pray 
repeat  your  statements,"  said  the  emperor.  "  The 
enemy's  troops  were  here  yesterday,  were  they 
not  ?  " 

u  They  were,  sire ;  all  St.  Dizier  was  occupied 
by  them.  It  was  General  Winzingerode,  with  tho 
soldiers  of  the  allies.  They  stated  that  they 
were  the  vanguard  of  the  principal  army.  Gen- 
eral Winzingerode  inspected  all  the  large  houses 
in  the  city,  and  reserved  the  best,  adding  that  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  and  the  King  of  Prussia 
would  arrive  here  to-morrow,  and  take  up  their 
quarters  at  those  houses ;  *  but  when  the  ap- 
proach of  your  majesty  was  reported,  the  enemy 
quickly  left  the  city." 

"  Very  well ;  you  may  go,"  said  Napoleon,  mo- 
tioning to  the  mayor  to  leave  the  room.—"  Well, 
Caulaincourt,  have  you  satisfied  yourself  now  ? 
Do  you  see  now  that  the  allies  are  not  in  our 
front,  but  .-till  in  our  rear  ?  " 

"  Sire,  suppose  it  were  a  delusion,  after  all  ?  " 
1  Caulaincourt     "Suppose   the   allies   had 
-••'1  this  stratagem,  to  mislead  your  majesty? 
—if  none  but  Winzingerode's  corps  follow  us, 
«hile   the   principal   army   is   hastening   toward 
by  different  routes?     Oh,  I  implore  your 
lo  not  suffer    your   keen  eyes  to  be 
blin<i  "  hopes!     Look  around  and  ex- 

amine the  evidences  that  confirm  my  views.  All 
tho  prisoners  report  that  the  armies  of  Bohemia 
tin!  Sili  -in  li  ivo  united,  and  are  now  marching  on 
.  on  our  way  from  I>ar-sur-Aube 
to  tl,  I  have  nowhere  met  with  large 


*  This  was  a  stratagem,  resorted  to  by  Wlnzlngerode, 

in  i.nli-r  to  mi.-k-a«l  Napoleon  as  to  the  march  of  thn  allies 


280 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


columns  of  troops,  and  nothing  whatever  indi- 
cates the  approach  of  the  enemy  in  force." 

"  Well,"  cried  Napoleon,  vehemently,  "  if  we 
have  not  met  with  the  enemy's  forces,  it  may  be 
because  they  are  in  full  retreat  toward  Lorraine, 
and  that  they  are  at  last  tired  of  carrying  on  a 
fruitless  struggle  with  me."  * 

"Ah,  your  majesty  still  thiuks  that  you  are  op- 
posed only  by  the  timid  and  desponding  enemies 
of  former  times  ! "  said  Caulaincourt,  sighing  ; 
"  but  this  is  a  mistake,  which  will  prove  disas- 
trous." 

"  A.h  ! "  cried  Napoleon,  vehemently,  "  you  dare 
.oil  me  that  ?  " 

"  Sire,"  said  Caulaincourt,  calmly,  "  it  is  my 
duty  to  tell  you  the  truth,  and  you  are  in  duty 
bound  to  listen  to  it.f  Now,  the  truth  is,  that 
the  allies  are  firmly  determined  to  carry  on  the 
war  to  the  last  extremity,  and  that,  at  the  best, 
they  will  leave  to  your  majesty  the  frontiers  of 
France  as  they  were  under  the  Bourbons.  I  ven- 
ture, therefore,  once  more  to  implore  your  majesty 
to  make  peace ;  sire,  peace  at  any  cost !  Per- 
haps it  may  be  time  yet.  Send  me  once  more  to 
the  allied  monarchs !  Tell  them  that  you  will 
uow  accept  the  ultimatum  offered  us  at  the  con- 
gress of  Chatillon,  and  that  you  will  content  your- 
self with  the  frontiers  of  France,  as  they  were 
previous  to  the  rise  of  the  empire.  Send  me 
with  this  declaration  to  the  Emperor  Alexander 
of  Russia,  who,  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  is  still 
your  friend ! " 

"  And  whose  devoted  friend  you  are ! "  cried 
Napoleon.  "Yes,  you  are  Alexander's  servant, 
and  not  mine  !  You  are  a  thorough  Russian  ! " 

"  No,  sire,  I  am  a  Frenchman ! "  said  Caulain- 
court, proudly,  looking  the  emperor  full  in  the 
face,  "  and  I  believe  I  prove  it  by  imploring  your 
majesty  to  give  peace  to  France  and  save  your 
crown." 

"  Ah,  save  my  crown ! "  exclaimed  Napoleon. 
"  Who  dares,  then,  threaten  my  crown  ?  " 

u  Sire,  the  allies  and  the  Bourbons.    The  former 


*  Fain,  "  Matmscrit  de  1814,"  p.  142. 
t  Caulainoourt's    words, — "  Memoires    d'un     Homme 
d'Stat,"  vol.  xii.,  p.  892. 


have  issued  a  proclamation,  stating  that  they  come 
to  this  country  to  make  war  on  the  Emperor  Napo 
leon,  and  not  on  France ;  and  the  Bourbons,  who 
are  now  in  France,  at  the  headquarters  of  the 
allies,  have  issued  another  proclamation,  calling 
upon  the  nation  to  return  to  its  duty  and  to  the 
allegiance  due  to  its  legitimate  king." 

"  I  am  neither  afraid  of  the  allies  nor  of  the 
Bourbons,"  said  Napoleon.  "  The  French  nation 
knows  no  Bourbons ;  it  knows  none  but  me,  its 
emperor,  and  we  two  shall  not  break  the  faith  we 
have  plighted  to  each  other.  We  shall  conquer 
together.  Dare  no  longer  ask  me  to  accept  the 
ignominious  terms  of  the  congress  of  Chatillon. 
It  is  better  to  die  beneath  the  ruins  of  my  throne 
than  be  at  the  mercy  of  my  enemies.  The  allies 
are  in  my  rear,  and  the  arrival  of  reinforcements 
will  soon  enable  me  to  give  them  battle ;  I  shall 
win,  and  it  will  be  for  me  to  dictate  terms.  Under 
the  walls  of  Paris  the  grave  of  the  Russians  will 
be  dug.  My  dispositions  have  been  made,  and  I 
shall  not  fail."  * 

Caulaincourt  sighed,  and  gazed  with  an  air  of 
painful  astonishment  on  the  serene  face  of  t  le 
emperor.  "Sire,"  he  said,  solemnly,  "I  c.ill 
Heaven  to  witness  that  I  have  tried  my  best  to 
incline  your  majesty  to  my  prayers  !  You  have 
refused  to  listen  to  me." 

"  Because  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  do  so,  Cau- 
laincourt ;  and,  besides,  I  do  not  believe  in  your 
apprehensions.  Suppose  that  Alexander  aid 
Frederick  William  should  determine  to  continue 
the  war,  there  is  a  third  sovereign  who  will  de- 
cide the  matter — the  Emperor  Francis,  my  father- 
in-law,  and  grandfather  of  the  King  of  Rome. 
You  see,  therefore,  that,  though  the  present  pros- 
pects were  unfavorable  to  me,  I  should  at  least 
have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Bourbons  ;  for  the 
emperor  will  not  permit  his  daughter  to  be  robbed 
of  her  crown,  nor  his  grandson  of  his  rightful  in- 
heritance." 

"  Sire,"  said  Caulaincourt,  in  a  low  voice,  "  do 
not  rely  too  much  on  the  attachment  of  the  Em- 


*  Napoleon's  words.— Vide  Constant,  "  Memoires,"  vol 
vi.,  p.  48. 


ON   TO  PARIS! 


281 


peror  Francis.  I  know  that,  though  he  la  your 
father-in-law,  he  hus  never  forgotten  the  day  when, 
:  the  battle  of  Austerlitz,  he  met  you  as  an 
humble  supplicant  at  your  camp-fire,  and  begged 
you  to  sp.ire  him  and  make  peace  with  him.  I 
know  that  that  recollection  has  greater  power 
over  him  than  any  bonds  of  relationship.  I  know 
that  Mettcrnich,  who  is  still  devoted  to  your  ma- 
jesty, vainly  tried  a  few  days  ago  to  prevail  upon 
the  Emperor  Francis  to  intercede  energetically 
with  the  other  monarchs  for  his  son-in-law  and 
daughter,  and  that  he  unsuccessfully  urged  him  to 
take  into  consideration  the  future  of  his  grand- 
son, the  King  of  Rome." 

"And  what  did  the  emperor  reply?"  asked 
Napoleon,  quickly. 

"  Sire,  the  emperor  replied,  in  his  strong  Aus- 
trian dialect,  '  Do  not  always  talk  to  me  about  the 
child  !  I  have  at  home  many  children  of  whom  I 
ought  to  think  first.'  "  * 

"  That  is  not  true  ;  he  did  not  say  so !  "  cried 
Napoleon. 

"Sire,  he  did;  Prince  Metternich  told  me  so." 
;>oleon  paused  a  moment  A  low  knocking 
at  the  do,->r  interrupted  his  meditation.  One  of 
the  adjutants  entered,  and  reported  that  the  em- 
peror's equerry,  Count  Saint-Aignan,  whom  the 
emperor  had  intrusted  with  a  mission,  had  re- 
turned, and  requested  an  audience  of  his  majesty. 
The  emperor  himself  hastened  to  the  door,  and 
eagerly  motioned  to  the  count  to  approach. 
"  Well,  Saint-Aignan,"  he  asked,  "  what  did  you 
find  ?  How  is  the  disposition  of  the  people  in  the 
south  of  France  ?  " 

"Sire,"  said  the  count,  mournfully,  "I  bring 
no  news  that  will  gladden  your  majesty's  : 

France  is  discontented  ;  the  people  are 
miplaining  of  the  duration  of  the  war;  they 
desire  peace  at  any  price,  and  are  disposed  to 
resort  to  extreme  measures  in  order  to  reestab- 
lish it." 

"What  dors  that  mean?"  asked  the  « 


*  The  Emperor  Francis  "aid:  "  R.Ws  micr  nit  alk-wcil 
.Ton  dem  Kind  ;bcl  raior  z'  Haus  bab '  ich  gar  vlelle  Kinder, 
an  die  Ich  z'  erst  d-:nken  inuess."1— Ilonnayr,  "  Lebensbil- 
ier,"  vol.  i.,  p.  9S. 


"I  do  not  understand  you;  express  yourself  more 
distinctly." 

"  Well,  then,  sire,  the  people  there  have  read 
the  proclamation  of  the  Bourbons,  and  think  of 
reinstating  them,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  an 
end  to  the  war." 

"  They  will  not  dare  to  do  that,"  cried  Napo 
leon,  casting  an  angry  glance  on  Saint-Aignan. 

"They  have  already,  sire,"  said  the  count. 
"  The  city  of  Bordeaux  has  declared  for  the  Bour- 
bons, and  the  Count  d'Artois,  as  well  as  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  d'Angoulfime,  have  made 
their  entrance  into  the  city,  and — " 

"And  have  been  received  with  enthusiasm  by 
the  population  ! "  cried  Napoleon.  "  Pray,  finish 
your  sentence,  and  teil  me  so.  Add  that  the  in- 
habitants of  Bordeaux  have  returned  to  their 
duty,  and  that  you,  too,  have  discovered  what 
your  duty  is,  and  that  you  intend  to  return  to  the 
legitimate  rulers  of  France  !  Go  !  I  permit  you ; 
I  relieve  you  of  the  duties  of  your  office  !  Go  to 
the  Bourbons ! " 

Count  Saint-Aignan  did  not  stir;  pallor  over- 
spread his  cheeks  ;  his  eyes,  fixed  on  the  encperor 
with  an  indescribable  expression  of  grief,  filled 
with  tears,  and  his  quivering  lips  were  unable  to 
speak. 

"Sire,"  said  the  Duke  de  Vicenza,  "your  ma- 
jesty does  injustice  to  the  count.  You  commanded 
him  to  give  a  reliable  report  of  his  mission ;  he 
was  not  at  liberty,  therefore,  to  conceal  any  thing, 
but  was  obliged  to  tell  you  the  whole  truth." 

"  The  truth  ! "  cried  Napoleon,  violently  stamp- 
ing, "  tint  which  you  fear  or  desire  you  call  the 
truth  !  You  all  see  through  the  colored  spectacles 
of  your  anxiety,  and  would  compel  me  tD  do  so,  too ; 
but  I  will  not ;  my  eyes  are  open,  and  see  thingt 
as  they  are.  Go,  Count  Saint-Aignan  ;  your  report 
is  finished  ! "  The  count,  with  a  sigh,  approached 
the  door,  and,  slowly  walking  backward,  left  the 
room.  "  The  Bourbons  1 "  murmured  Napoleon  to 
himself;  "they  shall  not  dare  to  threaten  me 
nith  this  spectre  !  There  are  no  Bourbons  !  I  am 
the  Emperor  of  France,  and-  it  is  to  me  alone  that 
the  French  nation  owes  allegiance !  "  He  looked 
thoughtfully,  with  a  dark  and  wrinkled  forehead, 


282 


NAPOLEON  AND    BLUCHER. 


but,  presently  lifting  his  head — "Oh,  Caulam- 
court,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  will  personally  satisfy 
myself  whether  the  army  of  the  allies  is  really  in 
our  rear,  or  whether  your  fears  are  well  grounded. 
Let  us  set  out  for  Vitry  !  " 

"  Heaven  be  praised ! "  replied  the  Duke  de 
Vicenza,  joyfully.  "  All  is  not  yet  lost ;  for 
Vitry  is  on  the  road  to  Paris." 

On  the  following  morning  the  emperor  moved 
with  his  forces  toward  Vitry,  and  took  up  his  quar- 
ters at  Marolles,  a  short  distance  from  the  little 
fortress.  Here  at  length  he  was  to  find  out  the 
true  state  of  affairs.  He  was  met  by  inhabitants 
of  Fere  Champenoise,  who  had  fled  to  Marolles, 
and  informed  him  that  Marshals  Marmont  and 
Mortier  had  suffered  decisive  defeats  at  the  hands 
of  the  allies ;  that  the  divisions  of  General  Pacthod 
and  Aurey  had  been  annihilated,  and  that  the 
united  armies  of  Bohemia  and  Silesia  were  in 
rapid  march  on  Paris. 

An  expression  of  terror  passed  over  the  face 
of  Napoleon,  and  his  equanimity  seemed  to  be 
shaken  ;  but  he  soon  overcame  the  effect  of  this 
news,  calmly  remarking,  "  Well,  if  the  allies  are 
inarching  on  Paris,  we  must  march  too." 

"  Yes,  on  to  Paris ! "  cried  the  marshals.  "  That 
is  the  most  important  point  in  present  circum- 
stances, and  it  can  be  defended,  if  the  emperor 
hasten  with  his  army." 

"  On  to  Paris,  then ! "  exclaimed  Napoleon. 
"  But  we  must  move  with  the  speed  of  the  wind  !  " 
He  appeared  to  have  regained  bis  whole  energy  ; 
his  eyes  beamed  again,  his  face  resumed  its  old 
determination,  and  he  issued  his  orders  in  a  firm 
and  cheerful  voice. 

It  was  all-important  to  defend  the  emperor's 
throne  at  Paris,  and  to  protect  the  inheritance  of 
the  King  of  Rome  from  the  allies  and  the  Bour- 
bons. Forward,  then,  by  forced  marches !  Na- 
poleon's headquarters  were  soon  at  Montier-en- 
Der — much  nearer  the  capital.  On  the  28th  of 
March  he  reached  Doulerant,  when  a  horseman, 
covered  with  dust,  pale  and  breathless,  coming 
from  the  direction  of  the  capital,  galloped  up  to 
the  head  of  the  column.  "Where  is  the  em- 
peror?" he  cried.  Having  leen  conducted  to 


him,  "Sire,"  he  whispered,  "I  am  sent  by  the 
postmaster-general,  your  faithful  Count  La  Va- 
lette,  to  deliver  this  paper." 

The  emperor  unfolded  the  paper  and  read.  A 
slight  tremor  pervaded  his  frame,  and  his  eye« 
grew  gloomier.  He  cast  another  glance  on  tho 
paper,  and  then,  seizing  it  with  his  teeth,  he  tore 
it  to  pieces.  None  but  himself  was  to  learn  tho 
contents  of  that  paper,  which  read :  "  The  ad- 
herents of  the  invaders,  encouraged  by  the  defec- 
tion  of  Bordeaux,  are  raising  their  heads ;  secret 
intrigues  are  helping  them.  The  emperor's  pres- 
ence is  necessary,  if  he  wishes  to  prevent  his  cap- 
ital from  being  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  We  must  march  immediately.  Not  a 
moment  is  to  be  lost."  * 

"  Forward  ! "  shouted  the  emperor.  "  We 
must  hasten  to  Paris,  and  be  there  to-morrow  !  " 
The  emperor,  with  the  cavalry  of  his  guard, 
headed  the  column.  His  countenance  was  still 
calm  and  impenetrable ;  but  at  times  a  gleam  lit 
up  his  sombre  eyes,  as  he  moved  on  in  a  violent 
thunderstorm. 

Another  courier  galloped  up  and  asked  for  the 
emperor.  "  Announce  me  to  him.  The  lieuten- 
ant-general  of  the  empire,  King  Joseph,  the  em- 
peror's brother,  sends  me." 

He  was  conducted  to  Napoleon,  who  received 
him  with  the  words,  "  News  from  my  brother  ir 
Paris  ?  Give  me  your  dispatch  ! " 

"  Sire,  I  have  no  dispatch  to  deliver ;  dispatches 
may  be  lost,  or  revealed  if  their  bearer  should  be 
arrested ;  but  memory  betrays  nothing.  I  have 
ridden  from  Paris  in  fourteen  hours.  Here  are 
my  credentials,  King  Joseph's  signet-ring." 

"  I  recognize  it.  Speak  ! "  By  a  wave  of  his 
hand  Napoleon  ordered  the  marshals  to  retire, 
and,  bending  his  head  toward  his  brother's  mes- 
senger, he  repeated  calmly,  "  Speak  ! " 

"  Sire,"  whispered  the  messenger,  "  the  king 
informs  your  majesty  that  the  allies  are  near 
Paris ;  that  Marshals  Marmont  and  Morticr, 
though  determined  to  defend  the  capital,  have  no 
hope  of  holding  their  positions.  The  king  im 

*  Fain,  "Manuscrit  de  1814." 


DEPARTURE   OF  MARIA   LOUISA. 


283 


ploree  your  majesty  most  urgently  to  leave  noth 
ing  undone  to  hasten  to  the  assistance  of  you 
capital."  * 

Having  heard  this  message,  the  emperor's  fac 
was  unveiled ;  it  was  quivering  with  anguish,  am 
-  turned  to  heaven  in  despair.  "  Oh,  if  '. 
had  wings ! "  he  cried,  in  an  outburst  of  grief 
"  if  I  could  be  in  Paris  at  this  hour !"  Then  he 
became  silent,  and  his  head  sank  on  his  breast 
His  generals  surrounded  him,  \\hen  he  lifted  his 
head  again  with  drops  of  sweat  on  his  forehead 
but  his  face  resir.ueJ  its  wonted  calmness.  "  Gen 
eral  Dejean,"  he  cried,  in  a  powerful  voice,  "ride 
to  Parts  as  fast  as  you  can.  Inform  my  brother 
that  I  am  making  a  forced  march  to  the  capital 
Hasten  then  to  Marmont  and  Mortier;  tell  them 
to  resist  to  the  last,  and  leave  nothing  untried  in 
order  to  hold  out  but  for  two  days.  In  that  time 
I  shall  be  in  front  of  Paris,  and  it  is  safe  !  Mar- 
mont is  to  dispatch  a  courier  to  Prince  Schwartz- 
euberg,  and  inform  him  that  I  have  sent  an  en- 
,yy  to  the  Emperor  Francis  with  propositions 
leading  to  peace.  Schwartzenberg  will  hesitate, 
and  we  shall  gain  time.  Haste,  Dejean,  and  re- 
member that  the  fate  of  my  capital  rests  with 
you  ! " 

When  General  Deje.in  rode  off,  Napoleon 
bought  his  faithful  friend,  the  Duke  de  Vicenza. 
He  was  by  his  side  before  the  emperor  had  ut- 
tered his  name.  <l  Caulaincourt,"  he  said,  in  a 
gentlt,'  voice,  "you  were  right.  I  have  lost  two 
days.  I  might  now  be  in  Paris.  Fate  is  behind 
me,  intent  on  crushing  me,  and  death  itself  re- 
fuses to  take  me!  At  the  battle  of  Bar-sur- 
Aube  I  did  all  I  could  to  die  while  defending  my 
country.  I  plunged  into  the  thickest  of  the 
fight ;  the  balls  tore  my  clothes,  and  yet  not  one 
of  them  injured  me.  I  am  a  man  doomed  to 
live  f — a  man  that,  for  the  welfare  of  his  people,  is 
to  subscribe  his  own  humiliation  and  di 
Caulaincourt,  go  to  the  Emperor  Francis  of  Aus- 
tria, Tell  him  I  ;u\vj>t  the  ultimatum  which  the 
offered  me  at  Chatillon.  I  sign  the  death- 


- 


*  Falii,  "Manuscrlt  dc  1814." 

t  Napoleon1?  words.— Vide  Bausset's  "M6molres,"  voL 
11.,  p.  *46. 


warrant  of  my  glory !     Hasten !    And  now,  for 
ward  !     In  two  days  we  must  reach  Paris  !  " 


CHAPTER  L. 

DEPARTURE   OF   MARIA   LOUISA. 

Ox  the  same  day,  and  nearly  at  the  same  hour 
of  the  29th  of  March,  while  the  emperor  was 
moving  with  his  troops  toward  Paris,  a  scene  of 
an  entirely  different  description  took  place  at  the 
rooms  of  the  empress,  his  consort,  in  the  Tuile- 
ries.  Napoleon,  in  his  despair,  wished  for  wings 
to  fly  to  Paris;  Maria  Louisa,  in  her  anguish, 
wished  for  wings  to  fly  away  from  Paris ;  for  the 
enemy  was  at  its  gates,  and  it  was  plain  that  the 
city  must  either  capitulate  or  run  the  risk  of  an 
assault. 

As  yet  Maria  Louisa  called  the  allies  threaten- 
ing the  throne  of  her  husband,  and  the  inheri 
tance  of  her  son,  her  enemies,  although  her  own 
father  was  among  them.  She  deemed  herself  in 
duty  bound  to  stand  by  her  husband,  to  brave 
the  vicissitudes  of  fortune  jointly  with  him,  and 
obey  his  will.  The  emperor  desired  that  his  con- 
sort and  his  son  should  not  remain  in  the  city  if 
any  danger  should  menace  them.  When  the 
news  reached  the  Tuileries  that  the  allies  had  ar- 
rived at  the  walls  of  Paris,  and  it  became  obvious 
that  the  corps  of  Marmont  and  Mortier  were  not 
strong  enough  to  withstand  the  armies  of  the 
nemy,  King  Joseph,  the  lieutenant  of  the  em- 
peror, summoned  the  regent,  Maria  Louisa,  and 
he  council  of  state,  to  deliberate  on  the  grave 
juestion  whether  or  not  the  empress  and  the 
of  Rome  should  remain,  or  be  withdrawn  to 
a  place  of  safety  beyond  the  Loire. 

The  decision  was  left  with  Maria  Louisa ;  but 
ho  regent  had  declared  it  was  not  for  her  to  set- 
le  this  question }  it  was  for  the  very  purpose  of 
dvising  her  and  guiding  her  steps  that  the  em- 
>eror  had  associated  the  council  of  state  with  her. 
ving  Joseph  produced  a  letter  front  Napoleon  of 


284 


NAPOLEON   AND  BLUCHER. 


a  nature  to  indicate  his  wishes.     It  was  dated 
Rheims,  15th  of  March,  and  read  : 

"  In  accordance  with  the  verbal  instructions 
which  I  have  given,  and  with  the  spirit  of  all  my 
letters,  you  are  in  no  event  to  permit  the  empress 
and  the  King  of  Rome  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  I  am  about  to  manoeuvre  in  such  a 
manner  that  you  may  possibly  be  several  days 
without  hearing  from  me.  Should  the  enemy  ad- 
vance upon  Paris  with  such  forces  as  to  render 
all  resistance  impossible,  send  off  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Loire  the  empress,  the  King  of  Rome, 
the  great  dignitaries,  the  ministers,  the  officers 
of  the  senate,  the  president  of  the  council  of 
state,  the  great  officers  of  the  crown,  and  the 
treasure.  Never  quit  my  son  ;  and  keep  in 
mind  that  I  would  rather  see  him  in  the  Seine 
than  in  the  hands  of  the  enemies  of  France  !  The 
fate  of  Astyanax,  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the 
Greeks,  has  always  appeared  to  me  the  most  de- 
plorable in  history. 

"  Your  brother,     NAPOLEON."  * 

This,  of  course,  put  an  end  to  all  debate.  The 
emperor's  precise  and  final  order,  providing  for 
the  very  case  which  had  occurred,  could  not  be 
disregarded,  and  Maria  Louisa  accordingly  deter- 
mined to  leave  with  her  son  and  her  suite  for 
Rambouillet.  The  morning  of  the  29th  of  March 
was  fixed  for  the  departure.  The  travelling-car- 
riages, loaded  with  baggage,  stood  in  the  court- 
yard of  the  Tuileries  ;  but  Maria  Louisa  still  hesi- 
tated. Her  travelling-toilet  was  completed ;  her 
ladies  were  with  her  in  the  reception-room,  filled 
with  persons  forming  the  cortege  of  the  empress. 
All  entered  in  mournful  silence,  and  to  their  bows 
the  empress  responded  only  with  a  nod.  Her 
eyes,  red  with  weeping,  were  fixed  on  the  door ; 
she  awaited  in  suspense  the  return  of  King  Joseph, 
who  had  left  the  Tuileries  at  daybreak,  and  had 
gone  to  the  gates  of  Paris  to  reconnoitre  the  ene- 
my's position.  At  first  the  departure  was  to  have 
taken  place  at  eight  in  the  morning ;  now  it  was 
past  nine,  and  King  Joseph  had  -not  yet  returned. 


*  Baron  de  Mcneval,  "Marie  Louise  et  Napoleon/ 
rol.  ii.,  p.  280. 


This  unexpected  delay  increased  the  anxiety. 
None  dared  interrupt  the  breathless  silence  reign- 
ing in  the  apartment ;  only  here  and  there  some 
one  whispered,  and,  whenever  a  door  opened,  nil 
started  and  turned  anxiously  toward  it,  as  if  ex- 
pecting a  bearer  of  sad  tidings.  The  face  of  the 
empress  was  pale  and  agitated ;  her  form  trem- 
bled ;  at  times  she  turned  toward  her  ladies,  who 
stood  behind  her,  and  addressed  to  them  some 
almost  inaudible  question,  not  waiting  for  a  reply, 
but  looking  again  tov.ard  the  door,  or  inclining  her 
head  on  her  bosom. 

Suddenly  the  door  was  opened,  and  on  the 
threshold  appeared  the  little  King  of  Rome,  fol- 
lowed by  his  governess,  Madame  de  Montesquieu. 
The  boy's  face  did  not  exhibit  to-day  its  air  of 
childlike  mirth,  which  usually  beamed  like  sun- 
shine from  his  beautiful  features.  No  smile 
was  on  his  fresh  lips,  and  his  lustrous  eyes  were 
dimmed.  With  a  sullen  face  and  without  looking 
at  any  one,  the  child,  so  intelligent  for  his  years, 
stepped  through  the  room  directly  toward  his 
mother.  "  Mamma  empress,"  he  said,  in  his  sil- 
very voice,  "  my  'Quiou  says  that  we  are  about  1o 
leave  Paris,  and  shall  no  longer  live  at  the  Tuil  > 
ries.  Is  that  true,  mamma  ?  " 

u  Yes,  my  son,  we  must  leave,"  said  the  em- 
press, in  a  low  voice,  "  but  we  shall  return." 

"  We  must  leave  ?  "  inquired  the  little  king. 
"  But  my  papa  once  said  to  me,  the  word  ( must ' 
is  not  for  me,  and  I  do  not  want  it  either,  and 
I  pray  my  dear  mamma  not  to  leave  Paris  wiih 
me." 

"  But  the  emperor  himself  wishes  us  to  leave, 
Napoleon,"  said  the  empress,  sighing,  and  with 
some  displeasure.  "Your  papa  has  ordered  us  to 
depart  if  the  enemy  should  come." 

"  The  enemy  ! "  cried  the  boy ;  "  I  am  not  afraid 
of  the  enemy.  If  he  comes,  we  do  as  my  papa 
emperor  always  does — we  beat  the  enemy,  and 
then  he  runs  away." 

But  these  words  of  the  brave  child,  which  would 
have  delighted  his  father's  heart,  seemed  to  make 
a  disagreeable  impression  upon  his  mother.  She 
murmured  a  few  inaudible  words,  and  slightl» 
shrugged  her  shoulders. 


DEPARTURE   OF   MARIA   LOUISA. 


285 


Madame  de  Montesquiou  took  the  child  by  the 
nand.  "  Come,  sire,"  she  said,  in  a  low  voice, 
"  do  not  disturb  her  majesty.  Come  !  " 

"  No,  no,"  cried  the  boy,  violently  disengaging 
himself,  "  I  am  sure  you  want  to  carry  me  down 
to  the  carriage,  and  I  tell  you  I  will  not  go !  Lot 
me  stay  here  with  my  mother,  dear  'Quiou  ;  I  do 
not  disturb  her,  for  you  see  she  is  not  busy,  and 
she  does  not  want  to  be  alone  either,  for  there  are 
a  great  many  persons  with  her.  Therefore,  I 
may  stay  here,  too,  may  I  not,  dear  mamma  em- 
press ! " 

"  Yes,  my  son,  stay  here,"  said  the  empress, 
abstractedly,  looking  again  at  the  door. 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  enemy,"  cried  the  little 
king,  proudly  throwing  bac  khis  head.  "  My  papa 
will  soon  come  and  drive  him  away.  But  tell 
me,  mamma,  what  is  the  name  of  the  enemy  who 
wants  to  rob  us  of  our  beautiful  palace.  What  is 
liis  name  ?  " 

"  Hush,  Napoleon  ! "  said  the  empress,  almost 
indignantly ;  "  what  good  would  it  do  you  to  hear 
what  you  do  not  understand  ?  " 

"Oh,  dear  mamma,"  cried  the  child,  with  a 
triumphant  air,  "  I  can  understand  very  well,  for 
papa  has  often  played  war  on  the  floor  with 
and  we  have  built  fortresses.     And  not  long 
papa  emperor  told  me,  too,  that  he  was  going 

the  army,  and  he  spoke  of  his  enemies.  I  re- 
ber  them  very  well :  they  are  the  Emperor 
of  Russia,  who  once  kissed  my  papa's  hand,  and 
thanked  God  that  papa  emperor  consented  to  be 
his  friend ;  the  King  of  Prussia,  from  whom  my 
could  have  taken  all  his  states ;  the  crown 
prince  of  Sweden,  who  learned  the  art  of  war 
from  rny  papa,  and  is  a  faithless  servant ;  and  last, 
the  Emperor  of  Austria.  But  tell  me,  mamma,  is 
not  he  your  fathor  ?  And  did  you  not  tell  me 
that  I  ought  to  pray  every  night  for  in; 
father,  the  Emperor  of  Au.-tii 

"  I  did   tell   you   so,  Napoleon,"  whispered  the 
ress,  whose  eyes  filled  with  (• 

The  boy  looked  down  for  a  moment  in 
and  then,  lifti:  :<>  his  mother, 

"Mamma,"  he   said,  "hetceforth    I   shall    never 
again  pray  for  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  for  he  .a 


DIB  II 

n,, 


„; 


now  my  papa's  enemy,  and,  therefore,  no  longer 
my  grandfather.  No,  no,  I  shall  not  pray  for 
him,  but  only  as  my  papa  likes  me  to  do."  And 
the  boy  knelt  down,  lifting  up  his  hands,  and  ex- 
claiming in  a  loud  voice,  "  Good  God,  I  pray  to 
Thee  ror  France  and  for  my  father !  " 

Expressions  of  deep  emotion  were  heard  in 
the  room.  The  empress  covered  her  face  with 
her  handkerchief,  and  wept  bitterly.  The  little 
king  was  still  on  his  knees,  with  his  eyes  raised 
toward  heaven.  Suddenly  the  door  at  which  the 
empress  had  looked  so  long  and  anxiously,  opened. 
It  was  not  King  Joseph  who  entered,  but  the  ad- 
jutant  of  General  Clarke,  the  regent's  minister  of 
war.  Approaching  the  empress,  he  begged  leave 
to  communicate  a  message  from  the  minister. 

"  Speak,"  said  Maria  Louisa,  hastily,  "  and  loud 
enough  for  every  one  to  hear  the  news." 

"  His  excellency,  the  minister  of  war,  has  com- 
missioned  me  to  implore  your  majesty  in  his  name 
to  leave  without  a  moment's  delay.  He  believes 
that  every  minute  increases  the  danger,  and  that 
an  hour  hence  it  might  be  impossible  for  you  to 
get  away,  because  your  majesty  would  then  ran 
the  risk  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  roving  bands 
of  Cossacks.  The  Russian  corps  are  already  near, 
and  we  shall  soon  hear  their  cannon  thunder  at 
the  very  gates  of  Paris."  * 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Maria  Louisa,  with  quiver- 
ing lips,  "be  it  so  !  Let  us  set  out." 

All  felt  that  the  decisive  hour  was  at  hand.  The 
empress  quickly  advanced  a  few  steps.  "  Come ! " 
she  exclaimed,  in  feverish  airitation.  "  Let  us  set 
out  for  Rambouillet ! " 

Suddenly  her  son  grasped  her  hand  and  en 
deavored  to  draw  her  back.  "  Dear  mamma,"  he 
cried,  anxiously,  "do  not  go!  Rambouillet  is 
an  ugly  old  castle.  Let  us  not  go,  but  stay 
here ! "  f 

"  It  cannot  be,  my  son  ;  we  must 

Hut  little  Napoleon  pushed  back  her  hand  with 
tare  of  indignation.  "Well,  then,  mamma,'1 
iid,  "go!  I  will  not  go.  I  will  not  leav< 


*  Moneval,  "  Marie  Louise,"  TO!.  II.,  p.  266. 
t  Tho  little  king's  words.— Ibid. 


286 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


my  house !  As  papa  is  not  here,  I  am  the  mas- 
ter !  and  I  say  I  will  not  go  ! "  * 

The  empress  motioned  to  the  equerry  on  ser- 
vice. "  M.  de  Comisy,"  she  ordered,  "  take  the 
prince  in  your  arms  and  carry  him  to  the  car- 
riage." 

"The  prince!  I  am  no  prince,  I  am  the  King 
of  Rome,"  cried  the  boy,  in  the  most  violent 
anger.  "I  will  not  go!  I  will  not  leave  my 
house ;  I  do  not  want  you  to  betray  my  dear 
papa  ! "  f  The  empress  took  no  longer  any 
notice  of  him ;  M.  de  Comisy  lifted  the  crying, 
struggling  boy  into  his  arms.  "  'Quiou,  dear 
'Quiou ! "  cried  the  child,  "  oh,  come  to  my  as- 
sistance !  I  will  not  leave  my  house  ! " 

"  Sire,"  said  Madame  de  Montesquieu,  weeping, 
"  we  must  leave :  the  emperor  has  ordered  us  to 
do  so ! " 

"  It  is  false !  "  cried  the  prince,  bursting  into 
a  flood  of  tears,  and  still  trying  to  disengage 
himself.  "My  papa  never  ordered  any  such 
thing,  for  he  says  that  one  ought  never  to  flee 
from  the  enemy.  I  will  not  go,  I  will  not  flee ! " 

"  Come,  sire;  come!"  exclaimed  M. de  Comisy. 

"  I  will  not  go  ! "  said  the  boy,  and  clung  to  the 
door.  But  Madame  de  Montesquiou,  vainly  try- 
ing to  comfort  the  prince  by  gentle  words,  dis- 
engaged his  tiny  hands,  and  M.  de  Comisy  hurried 
on.  The  whole  court,  the  whole  travelling  cortege 
thronged  forward,  following  the  empress  and  the 
King  of  Rome. 

Soon  the  brilliant  apartment  was  empty ;  but 
the  deserted  rooms  echoed  the  distant  cries  of  the 
little  King  of  Rome.  All  his  struggles  were  in 
vain.  M.  de  Comisy  was  not  allowed  to  have 
pity  on  him ;  the  will  of  the  empress  had  to  be 
fulfilled. 

At  length  the  preparations  were  completed, 
and  all  had  taken  their  seats.  The  large  clock 
on  the  tower  of  the  Tuileries  struck  eleven  as 
the  empress's  carriage  rolled  slowly  across  the 
epacious  court-yard.  The  crying  of  the  little 
king,  who  sat  by  the  side  of  his  mother,  was  still 


*  Meneval,  "  Marie  Louise." 

t  The  kiner's  words.— Vide  "  Memoires  du  Due  to  Ro- 


heard.  "With  them  were  also  the  mistress  of 
ceremonies,  the  Duchess  de  Montebello,  and  the 
governess.  Nine  other  carriages  followed,  deco- 
rated with  the  imperial  coat-of-arms,  and  numer- 
ous baggage-wagons,  and  the  whole  train  of  a 
brilliant  court.  The  procession  filled  the  whole 
length  of  the  court-yard  of  the  Tuileries. 

"When  the  carriage  of  the  empress  drove  through 
the  large  iron  enclosure,  a  small  crowd  of  spectators 
stood  near,  and  gazed  in  mournful  silence.  Not 
a  hand  was  raised  to  salute  the  fugitives ;  not  a 
voice  shouted  a  farewell.  The  sad  train  passed 
along,  while  the  people  looked  after  it,  as  if  the 
funeral  procession  of  the  empire.  The  imperial 
party  disappeared  among  the  trees  of  the  Champs 
Elysees,  and  left  Paris  by  the  "  Gate  of  Victory  " 


CHAPTER  LI. 

THE    CAPITULATION    OF   PARIS. 

THE  roar  of  cannon,  which  continued 
daylong  of  the  30th  of  March,  began  now  to 
cease;  but  the  great  battle  which  the  allies 
fought  under  the  walls  of  Paris  with  the  corps  of 
Marmont  and  Mortier,  was  not  finished.  Before 
resorting  to  a  bombardment,  and  an  assault  or 
the  city,  conciliation  was  once  more  to  be  tried. 
Delegates  of  the  monarchs,  therefore,  repaired  to 
the  marshals,  and  requested  them  to  consent  to 
an  honorable  capitulation. 

"This  is  another  instance  of  our  foolish  gen- 
erosity ! "  growled  Blucher,  leaning  back  in  his 
carriage.  "  The  whole  rats'-ncst  ought  to  be  de 
molished ;  Bonaparte  and  the  French  would  then 
have  to  submit.  But  I  see  already  how  it  will 
be.  The  peace  will  be  unsatisfactory,  and  our 
demands  will  be  as  modest  as  possible,  lest  we  in- 
cur the  displeasure  of  the  dear  French. — Pipe- 
master,  hand  me  a  short  pipe !  I  must  smoke,  to 
stifle  my  anger." 

"  Your  excellency,"  said  Christian,  riding  up  tc 
the  carriage,  "you  have  promised  the  surgeon 


THE  CAPITULATION   OF  PARIS. 


287 


"V 

:: 


general  not  to  smoke  much,  and  least  of  all  a  short 
pipe,  because  the  hot  smoke-  is  injurious  to  the 

-      Your  excellency  has  smoked  six  ; 
day  !  " 

44  And  it  seems  to  me  that  is  veryjittle  !  What 
are  six  pipes  for  a  general-in-chief,  who  has  to 
reflect  so  much  as  I  have  to-day  ?  Give  me 
a  pipe,  Christian  ;  it  is  bad  enough  that  I  have 
to  sit  in  such  a  monkey-box  of  a  carriage,  in- 
stead of  riding  on  horseback  at  the  head  of  my 
troops." 

"  Nevertheless,  every  thing  passed  off  very  well," 
said  Christian,  calmly.  "  You  shouted  your  or- 
ders out  of  the  carnage  like  a  madman,  and  the 
generals  and  adjutants  heard  and  executed  all  as 
if  you  had  been  on  horseback  among  them.  In 
fact,  it  would  have  been  only  necessary  for  you  to 
order,  '  Forward  ! '  It  would  have  been  just  as 
well,  for  your  hussars  were  intent  on  nothing  else ; 
and,  like  their  field-mat shul,  they  wished  only  to 
reach  P 

"  And  now  we  have  to  wait  here  without  firing 
a  gun,"  replied  Blucher.  "  Moreover,  my  eyes 
ache  as  if  they  were  burning.  The  sun  has  been 
blazing  all  day,  as  though  curious  to  see  whether 
or  not  we  should  take  Paris ;  he  has  poured  his 
rays  on  me  since  daybreak,  and  I  had  no  protection 
my  old  eyes.  On  looking  out  of  the  carriage 
early  this  morning  I  lost  my  shade ;  the  wind  car- 
ried it  off  as  though  it  were  a  kite.  I  have  lost 

and,  what  is  worse,  I  cannot  even  enter  Paris, 
16  sign  a  capitulation." 

"  Here  is  the  pipe,  your  excellency,"  said  Chris- 

n,  "  and  now,  good -by,  :  .  :1 ;  I  have  to 

to  a  little  private  matter." 

Fie  galloped  off,  and  Blucher  looked  after  him. 

Happy  fellow  !  "  li  ing ;  "  he  can  gal- 

;d,  while  I  must  sit  here  as  a 
r  old  prisoner  I"  At  this  moment  his  adjutant, 
Major  von  Nostiz,  r>de  up  to  the  field-marshal's 
carriage.     "Well,  Nostiz,  tell  me  how  thi. 
in  the  outer  world.     What  is  the  in- 

"Bad  and  i_"«"l,  ymr  evflk-ney,"  said 

A  murderous  battle  has  taken  place  to- 
we  have  sustained   heavy   losses.     About  eight 
thousand  men  were  killed  on  our  side,  but  in  re- 


turn we  have  gained  a  large  number  of  trophies, 
field-pieces,  caissons,  and  stands  of  colors." 

"  We  ought  to  have  taken  all  their  color^  ! " 
cried  Blucher,  eagerly.  "  What  say  the  mon- 
archs  now,  Nostiz?  Will  they  still  leave  the 
Parisians  the  choice  to  suffer  a  bombardment  or 
not?" 

"  The  negotiations  are  still  pending." 

"  Are  the  monarchs  themselves  taking  part  in 
them?  Do  they  condescend  to  negotiate  in 
person  ?  " 

"No,  your  excellency.  The  monarchs  have 
returned  to  their  quarters  ;  the  King  of  Prussia 
has  gone  to  the  village  of  Pantin,  the  Emperor  of 
Russia  to  Bondy,  and  their  representatives  have 
repaired  to  the  suburb  of  La  Chapelle,  where 
they  are  treating  with  Marshals  Mortier  and  Mar- 
mont  and  their  two  adjutants  in  regard  to  the 
capitulation  of  Paris." 

"Would  that  their  negotiations  were  unsuc- 
cessful— that  we  might  have  the  pleasure  of 
bombarding  this  infamous  city  which,  for  twenty 
years  past,  has  brought  so  much  misery  on  Eu 
rope ! " 

"There  is  some  prospect  of  it,"  said  Nostiz, 
smiling.     "The  allies  have   demanded   that  the 
French  corps  should  surrender  as  prisoners  of 
war.     To  this  the  marshals  refused  to  accede, 
declaring   that    they    would   perish   first   in   the 
streets,  so  the  allies  agreed  to  abandon  this  arti 
cle.     A  discussion  next  rose  as  to  the  route  by 
which  the  corps  of  Marmont  and  Mortier  should 
,  so  as  to  be  prevented  from  joining  the  ap- 
proaching forces  of  the  emperor,  the  allies  insist- 
ing for  that  of  Brittany,  the  French  for  any  tha' 
t  choose.     The  marshals  n-fn.-.-.l  posi- 
•o  agree  to  tl  .Is." 

"They  did ! "  cried  Blucher,  in  an  angry  v 
"  Well,  I  am  glad  of  it,  for  I  see  now  that  we 
shall  have  a  bomhar  Inunt.     Let  us  immediately 
make  all   necessary  dispositions  for  it,  in  order 
that  when  the  fun  common.- 

With    the   activity    of  a 

youth  Blucher  opened  his  carriage  and  vaulted  on 
the  horse,  which  the  groom  led  close  to  the  car- 
riage. For  a  moment  he  reeled  in  the  saddle  ;  for 


288 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


he  felt  as  if  red-hot  daggers  were  piercing  his  eyes, 
but  he  overcame  his  faintness  and  pain.  "  Where 
are  the  members  of  my  staff,  Nostiz  ?  "  he  asked, 
eagerly. 

"  They  are  near,  your  excellency,  at  La  Vil- 
lette." 

"  Let  us  ride,  then,  to  La  Villette,  and  thence 
up  the  Montmartre.  Nostiz,  you  will  have  im- 
mediately eighty  or  ninety  pieces  planted  on  the 
Montmartre,  that,  when  the  bombardment  com- 
mences early  in  the  morning,  there  may  be  no 
delay.*  Make  haste,  Nostiz  !  There  must  be  at 
least  eighty  pieces  !  We  shall  startle  the  Paris- 
ians out  of  their  slumber,"  growled  Blueher,  ri- 
ding along  the  road  to  La  Villette,  attended  by 
his  orderlies;  "let  them  see  that  another  state 
of  affairs  exists,  and  that  they  are  no  longer  the 
masters  of  the  world,  and  able  to  trample  others 
in  the  dust ! " 

At  La  Yillette,  Blueher  met  the  members  of  his 
staff,  and,  with  Gneisenau  and  Muffling  by  his  side, 
and  followed  by  the  other  officers,  rode  up  the 
heights  of  Montmartre.  The  sun  had  set,  but  his 
last  beams  still  lingered  in  the  evening  clouds. 
The  silence  reigning  around  them  after  the  up- 
roar of  the  day,  made  upon  their  minds  a  solemn 
impression.  At  first  the  party  engaged  in  an  an- 
imated conversation,  but  it  gradually  ceased. 
Peaceful  nature  in  this  spring  eventide  contrasted 
the  noise  and  bloodshed  of  the  day  with  her  own 
indifference,  so  that  even  Blueher  himself  was 
deeply  moved. 

They  reached  the  crest  of  the  Montmartre. 
Paris — the  long-feared,  but  now  vanquished  Paris, 
which  for  centuries  had  not  seen  a  conquering 
enemy  near  its  walls — lay  at  their  feet.  The 
steeples  of  Notre-Dame,  of  St.  Genevieve,  the 
large  cupola  of  the  Hotel  des  Invalides,  the  count- 
less spires  proudly  looming  up,  the  vast  pile  of 
the  Tuileries,  the  Louvre,  the  Palais-Royal,  where 
for  twenty  years  Napoleon  had  given  laws  to 
trembling  Europe,  were  plainly  discerned.  And 
this  great  city,  with  its  temples  and  palaces,  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  They  were  Prussian 


Varnhagen  von  Ensc,  "  Life  of  Blucber,'*  p.  8SO. 


generals  who  looked  down  from  the  heights  of 
the  Montmartre,  and  who  for  seven  ysars  had 
borne  the  disgrace  of  their  country  with  sad  yet 
courageous  hearts ;  but  this  moment  was  a  suffi- 
cient indemnity  for  the  long  years  of  wretched- 
ness. 

"This,  then,  is  Paris,"  said  Blueher,  after  a 
long  pause,  and  his  voice  was  gentle  and  tremu- 
lous. "  This  is  Paris,  for  which  I  have  longed 
during  seven  years — the  city  which  I  knew  my 
eyes  would  see,  that  I  might  die  in  peace !  Good 
God,"  he  cried,  lifting  his  blue  eyes  toward  heav- 
en, and  taking  off  his  cap,  "  I  thank  Thee  for 
having  permitted  us  to  be  here,  for  lending  us 
Thy  assistance  in  attaining  our  object,  and  hurl- 
ing from  the  throne  the  man  who  has  so  long 
been  a  terror  to  humanity.  I  thank  Thee  for 
having  called  us,  the  men  who  saw  the  disas- 
trous day  of  Jena,  to  participate  in  the  day  of 
liberation  !  Blessed  spirit  of  our  Queen  Louisa  ! 
if  thou,  with  thine  heavenly  eyes  that  wept  so 
much  on  earth,  now  lookest  down  upon  us,  be- 
hold our  hearts  full  of  gratitude  toward  God,  and 
of  love  for  thee  as  when  thou  wast  among  us  ! 
Thou  hast  assisted  us  in  gaining  the  victory;  as- 
sist us  now,  too,  in  profiting  by  it  in  a  manne" 
worthy  ourselves,  and  for  the  welfare  of  the  fa- 
therland ! "  He  paused,  and,  shading  his  faco 
with  his  cap,  prayed  in  a  low  voice.  The  gener- 
als followed  his  example ;  removing  their  hats, 
they  offered  silent  prayers  of  gratitude  to  God. 
"  Now,"  cried  Blueher,  putting  on  his  cap  again, 
"  we  have  paid  homage  to  Heaven,  let  us  think  a 
little  of  ourselves.  I  am  still  in  hope  that  there 
will  be  a  bombardment,  and  that  we  shall  send 
our  balls  to  the  Parisians  for  breakfast  to-mor- 
row. I  will,  therefore,  remain  on  the  Montmar- 
tre, and  establish  here  my  quarters  for  the  night." 

"  Field-marshal ! "  shouted  a  voice  at  a  dis- 
tance. "  Field-Marshal  Blueher,  where  arc  you  ?  " 

"  Here  I  am  !  "  shouted  Blueher. 

"  And  here  I  am  !  "  cried  Hennemann,  gallop- 
ing up. 

"  Pipe-master,  is  it  you  ?  "  asked  Blueher,  in 
amazement.  "Well,  what  do  you  want,  and 
where  have  you  been  so  long  ?  " 


NIGHT  AND   MORNING   NEAR  PARIS. 


289 


"I  have  just  brought  an  eye-shade  for  you,  and 
oere  it  is,"  said  Christian,  handing  with  profound 
gravity  a  lady's  bonnet  of  green  silk,  with  a  broad 
green  brim. 

"A  bonnet!"  exclaimed  Blucher,  laughing. 
''What  am  I  to  do  with  it?" 

"  Put  it  on,"  saM  Christian,  composedly.  "  We 
can  cut  off  the  crown,  then  it  will  be  a  good 
shade;  your  excellency  will  put  it  on,  ami  \\var 
your  general's  hat  over  it." 

" That  will  do,"  said  Blucher.  "But  tell  me, 
tny  boy,  where  did  you  get  it  ?  " 

u  I  saw  this  afternoon  a  lady  with  a  green  bon- 
net at  a  villa  near  which  I  passed,  and  when  you 
told  me  you  ought  to  have  an  cye-shide,  I  thought 
immediately  of  the  bonnet.  Well,  I  rode  to  the 
house,  and  knocked  so  long  at  the  door  that  they 
opened  it.  There  were  none  but  women  at  the 
house,  and  they  cried  and  wailed  dreadfully  on 
seeing  me.  Well,  I  told  them  at  once  that  I 
would  not  hurf  them,  but  was  only  desirous  of 
getting  the  green  bonnet.  While  the  women 
were  raising  such  a  hue-and-cry,  another  door 
opened,  and  the  lady  who  owned  the  house  came 
in,  with  the  bonnet  on.  Well,  I  went  directly  to 
her,  made  her  an  obeisance,  and  said,  '  Madame, 
be  so  kind  as  to  give  me  your  green  bonnet  for 
my  field-marshal,  who  has  sore  eyes.'  " 

"  Well,  and  did  she  understand  your  good 
Mecklenburg  German  ?  "  inquired  Blucher,  smil- 
ing. 

"  No,  she  did  not  understand  me  apparently, 
I  made  myself  understood,  your  excellency." 
Well,  what  did  you  do  ?  " 

"Oh,  your  excellency,  I  simply  stepped  near 
her,  took  hold  of  the  large  knot  by  which  her 
bonnet  was  tied  under  her  chin,  loosened  it,  seized 
the  bonnet  by  the  brim,  and  took  it  ver 
from  her  head.     She  cried  a  little,  ami  fainted 
away — but  that  will  not  hurt  a  woman  ;  I  know 
."he  will  soon  i>e  better.     I  secured  my  pri/.-,  an«l 
hen-  1    am,  ami   here  is   your   cxeellfm 
Aide." 

"  And  a  good  one  it  is.  I  thank  you,  my  boy ; 
I  will  wear  it  in  honor  of  you,  for  my  eyes  are 
i-ching  dreadfully,  and  I  have  need  of  a  shade.  I 
19 


will  raise  this  standard  when  we  make  our  en- 
trance into  Paris,  and  I  believe,  pipe-master,  the 
fair  Parisians  \\ill  rejoice  at  seeing  me  dressed  in 
the  latest  Parisian  fashion.  But  now,  milliner, 
cut  off  the  crown,  else  I  cannot  use  it." 

"I  will  do  so  at  once,"  said  Christian,  taking 
a  pair  of  scissors  from  his  dressing-pouch,  and 
transforming  a  lady's  bonnet  into  an  eye-shade. 

A  few  hours  afterward,  all  was  quiet  on  the 
Montmartre,  and  on  all  the  other  heights  around 
Paris.  After  the  battle  the  armies  needed  sleep, 
and  it  was  undisturbed,  for  there  was  no  longer 
an  enemy  to  dispute  their  possession  of  the  French 
capital. 


CHAPTER    LII. 

NIGHT   AND   MORNING    NEAR    PARIS. 

So  the  allied  armies  encamped  and  rested 
round  the  bivouac-fires,  while,  at  a  house  in  the 
suburbs  of  La  Chapelle,  the  plenipotentiaries  of 
the  sovereigns  were  still  negotiating  with  the 
French  marshals  the  terms  on  which  the  city  was 
to  be  surrendered.  But  he  who  now  rode  along 
the  road  to  Paris  at  a  gallop  hi  an  open  carriage 
knew  no  peace  or  rest.  His  quivering  features 
were  expressive  of  alarm  ;  ruin  sat  enthroned  on 
his  forehead,  covered  with  perspiration.  By  his 
side  sat  Caulaincourt ;  behind  him,  Berthier  and 
Flahault.  The  carriage  thundered  along  at  the 
utmost  speed.  "  Caulaincourt,  I  shall  arrive  at 
Paris  in  time,"  murmured  the  emperor  ;  "  we  are 
already  at  Fromenteau ;  in  an  hour  we  shall  be 
there.  The  watch-tires  of  the  enemy  are  seen 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Seine.  Ah,  I  shall 
extinguish  them ;  to-morrow  night  the  enemy  will 
not  be  so  near. — But  what  is  that  ?  Do  you  hear 
nothing  ?  Have  the  carriage  stopped  ! " 

liirr  shouted  to  the  driver — the   carriage 
stopped.     They  all  heard  a  sort  of  hollow  noise. 

"It  is  a  squad  of  cavalry  riding  along  this 
road,"  whispered  Cuulaincourt. 

"It  is  artillery,"  murmured  Napoleon.  "For- 
ward !  They  can  only  be  our  own  men.  But 


290 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


why  are  they  retreating  from  Paris  ?  For- 
warl!" 

Ihe  carriage  rolled  on.  And  from  the  other 
side  of  the  road  a  dark  mass,  with  a  rumbling 
noise,  moved  toward  them.  Napoleon  was  not 
mistaken,  nor  was  Caulaincourt  mistaken. 

"  Who  is  there  ?  "  shouted  the  emperor  to  the 
horsemen  at  the  head  of  the  column.  "  Halt ! " 

"  It  is  the  emperor ! "  cried  a  voice,  in  amaze- 
ment, and  a  horseman  dismounting  in  a  moment 
approached  the  carnage. 

"  It  is  General  Belliard,"  exclaimed  the  em- 
peror, and  alighted  hastily  from  his  carriage. 
"  General,  whither  are  you  moving  ?  What  about 
Paris  ?  " 

"  Sire,  all  is  lost  !  "  said  Belliard,  after  a  mourn- 
ful pause. 

"  How  so  ? "  cried  Napoleon,  vehemently. 
"  You  see  I  am  coming  !  I  shall  be  in  Paris  in 
an  hour.  I  will  call  out  the  National  Guard,  and 
pul  myself  at  the  head  of  the  troops." 

"Sire,  we  are  too  weak;  the  enemy  is  five 
times  stronger." 

"  But  I  am  there,  and  my  name  will  increase 
the  strength  of  my  army  fivefold." 

"  Sire,  it  is  too  late." 

"  Too  late  !    What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Marmont  and  Mortier  have  capitulated ;  we 
are  taking  advantage  of  the  night  to  evacuate 
Paris,  while  the  marshals  are  still  negotiating  the 
terms  of  capitulation." 

A  single  cry  of  anger  burst  from  Napoleon's 
lips ;  then,  as  if  crushed  by  the  blow,  his  head 
droj.pc^  on  his  breast.  Recovering  himself  in  a 
moment,  he  said,  imperiously :  "  General  Bel- 
liard !  return  with  your  troops ;  I  shall  be  there 
before  you  reach  the  city.  Resuming  hostilities, 
I  will  call  upon  all  Paris  to  take  up  arms ;  the 
people  love  me,  they  will  remain  faithful;  the 
majority  of  the  working-men  are  composed  of  old 
soldiers.  They  know  how  to  fight,  and  I  will 
lead  them.  We  shall  fight  as  the  Spaniards 
fought  against  us  at  Saragossa,  defending  with 
our  blood  the  streets  of  our  capital;  detaining 
the  enemy  at  least  for  a  day,  my  army  will  arrive, 
and  we  shall  be  strong  enough  to  give  battle.  I 


must  go  to  Paris  ;  when  I  am  not  there,  they  do 
nothing  but  blunder !  My  brother  Joseph  is  a 
pusillanimous  and  easily-disheartened  man,  and 
Minister  Clarke  is  a  blockhead.  Marmont  and 
Mortier  are  traitors  deserving  death,  for  they  vio- 
lated my  express  instructions.  I  asked  them  to 
hold  out  only  two  days,  and  the  traitors  capitu- 
lated before  they  had  elapsed  !  Oh,  I  shall  hold 
them  responsible  for  it :  I  know  how  to  punish 
traitors  and  poltroons  ! "  He  hurried  on  in  a 
rapid  step,  General  Belliard  walking  by  his  side, 
and  Caulaincourt,  Berthier,  and  Flahault  follow- 
ing him.  "  I  must  go  to  Paris,"  cried  the  em- 
peror, after  a  momentary  pause.  "  Order  my 
carriage ! " 

"  Sire,"  said  Belliard,  solemnly,  "  it  is  no  longer 
possible  for  your  majesty  to  reach  Paris.  You 
would  run  the  risk  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
vanguard  of  the  allies.  If  your  majesty  were  at 
Paris,  it  would  be  of  no  avail.  The  enemy  is 
in  possession  of  all  the  heights,  and  they  can 
bombard  the  city  without  being  interfered  with 
by  the  exhausted  troops  of  Mortier  and  Marmont. 
Sire,  all  is  lost;  there  is  no  prospect  which  would 
justify  us  to  hope  for  a  favorable  change." 

"  To  Paris  ! "  cried  the  emperor.  "  You  say  I 
can  no  longer  enter  the  city.  Well,  then,  I  shall 
put  myself  at  the  head  of  the  troops  of  Marshals 
Mortier  and  Marmont,  and,  while  the  allies  are 
making  their  entrance  into  the  city,  resume  the 
struggle." 

"Sire,"  said  Belliard,  mournfully,  "it  is  too 
late,  the  marshals  have  agreed  to  surrender  Paris  ; 
it  was  only  on  this  condition  that  our  troops 
were  allowed  to  move  out.  The  capitulation  can- 
not be  broken." 

"What  do  I  care  for  the  capitulation  of  traitor- 
ous marshals  ?  "  said  the  emperor,  stamping ;  "  my 
will  alone  reigns  here,  and  my  will  is,  that  the 
troops  face  about  and  follow  me. — Say,  Hulin," 
said  the  emperor,  turning  toward  the  commander 
of  Paris,  who  had  just  approached  him,  "  are  you 
not  of  my  opinion  ?  The  troops  should  return  to 
Paris  ?  " 

"  No,  sire,"  said  General  Hulin,  sighing,  "  the 
capitulation  has  already  been  concluded,  and  it 


NIGHT   AND  MORNING  NEAR  PARIS. 


291 


Joes  not  permit  the  soldiers  to  return  on  any 
pretext," 

"Are  you  of  the  same  opinion?"  asked  Na- 
poleon, turning  toward  General  Curial,  who  had 
just  come  up  with  a  corps  of  infantry,  and  saluted 
the  emperor. 

"lam,  sire,"  said  Curial.  "The  capitulation 
has  been  concluded,  and  we  are  happy  to  have 
received  permission  for  our  troops,  who  are  ex- 
hausted, to  evacuate  the  city.  We  are  already 
on  the  march  in  the  direction  of  Fontaine- 
bleau.  We  have  no  hope  of  conquering,  and  we 
could  only  be  involved  in  a  last  dreadful  but 
useless  carnage.  Your  majesty  cannot  desire 
that.  Have  pity  on  poor  France,  bleeding  from 
a  thousand  wounds ;  you  do  not  wish  the  enemy 
to  bombard  the  heart  of  our  country." 

"  And  you  ? "  asked  Napoleon,  turning  his 
eyes,  with  an  expression  of  agony,  toward  his 
attendants.  "  Caulaincourt,  do  you,  too,  share 
the  views  of  these  gentlemen  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sire,"  said  Caulaincourt,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes.  "  It  is  too  late  to  conquer ;  it  only  remains 
for  us  to  save  what  we  can." 

"And  you,  Berthier  and  Flahault?" 

"  Sire,  that  is  our  opinion  !  It  is  too  late ;  all 
is  lost ! " 

Napoleon's  sigh  sounded  like  a  death-rattle. 
"  Well,  then,"  he  said,  in  a  faint,  hollow  voice, 
"  I  will  return  to  Fontainebleau." 

Napoleon  reentered  his  carriage.  When  hie 
three  attendants  had  taken  seats,  be  rose  and 
called  out  in  a  commanding  voice,  "  General  Bel- 
liard ! "  The  general  approached  the  carriage 
hesitatingly  ;  he  was  still  afraid  lest  the  em- 
peror should  change  his  mind. 

"  Belliard,"  said  Napoleon,  "  dispatch  immedi- 
ately an  orderly  to  Marshals  Marmont  and  Mortier, 
and  communicate  to  them  that  they  march  their 
troops  to  Essonne,  ten  leagues  south  of  Paris ; 
there  they  are  to  take  a  position,  and  await  fur- 
ther orders. — To  Fontainebleau  :  " 

The  carriage  passed  again  along  the  road  oy 
which  it  had  arrived,  bearing  away  a  wearied  and 
despairing  man,  who  a  moment  before  was  full  of 
hope  and  energy.  The  clock  of  the  village  of 


Jurissy  struck  twelve,  when  he  halted  in  front 
of  the  "  Cour  de  France,"  and  had  the  horses 
changed.  "Caulaincourt,"  he  said,  hurriedly, 
"  alight,  take  post-norues,  and  hasten  to  Paris ! 
Penetrate  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander!  Prevent  the  capitulation — do  so  in 
my  name ;  you  have  full  powers !  Negotiate, 
consent  to  any  treaty  that  recognizes  me  as  sov- 
ereign of  France  !  "  * 

It  was  past  midnight,  and  with  a  new  day  be- 
gan a  new  era.  The  rising  sun  shone  upon  the 
brilliant  array  of  the  allies.  The  terms  of  the 
capitulation  had  been  adjusted  at  two  in  the 
morning.  It  was  stipulated  that  the  marshals 
should  evacuate  Paris  at  seven  on  the  same  day; 
that  the  public  arsenals  and  magazines  be  sur- 
rendered in  the  same  state  in  which  they  were 
when  the  capitulation  was  concluded;  that  the 
National  Guard,  according  to  the  pleasure  of  the 
allies,  be  either  disbanded,  or  employed  under 
their  direction  in  the  service  of  the  city ;  that  the 
wounded  and  stragglers,  found  after  ten  in  the 
morning,  be  considered  prisoners  of  war ;  and  that 
Paris  be  recommended  to  the  generosity  of  the 
sovereigns.! 

It  was  now  eight  in  the  morning,  and  the  corps 
of  the  allied  troops  that  were  to  make  their  en- 
trance into  the  city  were  in  readiness.  A  staff, 
composed  of  hundreds  of  Austrian,  Russian,  Prus- 
sian, Wurtemberg,  Bavarian,  and  Swedish  gen- 
erals, awaited  the  arrival  of  the  Emperor  of  Rus- 
sia and  the  King  of  Prussia,  when  the  triumphal 
march  into  Paris  would  take  place. 

Overcoming  his  pain,  and  keeping  erect  by  a 
violent  effort,  Field-Marshal  Blucher  had  himself 
dressed  by  his  servants.  The  toilet  was  finished, 
and,  attired  in  his  uniform,  covered  with  glittering 
orders,  he  stepped  from  his  bedroom,  and  sent 
for  Christian.  "Pipe-master,"  he  said,  "I  am 
ready  now,  and  believe  I  look  quite  imposing; 
but  you  must  adjust  the  last  ornament  of  my 
toilet.  You  captured  it,  and  ought  to  add  It  to 
my  uniform." 

"  What  ornament,  your  excellency  ?  " 

*  Boitzke.  vol.  1UM  p.  496. 
t  ••  M^moire*  4u  Due  de  Rovlgo,"  voL  HL 


292 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


"Well,  the  eye-shade,  Christian.  Come  and 
adorn  me ! "  He  handed  the  crownless  bonnet  to 
Christian,  and  sat  down  on  a  chair.  The  article 
was  carefully  placed  on  the  head  of  the  field- 
marshal,  so  that  his  bald  scalp  protruded  from  the 
aperture  of  the  shade  like  a  full  moon  surrounded 
by  a  green  halo.  He  then  carefully  put  on  it  the 
field-marshal's  hat,  with  its  waving  plumes  and 
gold-lace.* 

"  Now  I  am  ready,"  said  Blucher,  ri?iug. 

At  this  moment  the  door  opened,  and  Gen- 
eral Gneisenau,  accompanied  by  Surgeon-General 
Voelzke,  entered  the  room. 

'*  What ! "  exclaimed  Gueisenau,  in  amazement. 
(*  An  hour  ago  I  found  you  in  bed,  a  prey  to  a 
i  aging  fever,  complaining  of  your  eyes ;  and  now 
fouhave  not  only  risen,  but  are  in  full  feather,  and 
ready  for  the  march  into  the  city  !  " 

"  Why,  yes,  of  course,  I  am,"  said  Blucher,  sul- 
lenly. "  I  must  make  my  entry,  I  must  keep  my 
word,  and  get  into  Paris  after  aiding  in  getting 
Aim  out  of  it." 

"That  is  to  say,"  cried  Dr.  Voelzke,  " you  in- 
tend to  break  your  pledge,  and  prove  faithless  to 
your  oath  ?  " 

"What  oath?"  asked  Blucher,  greatly  sur- 
prised. 

"  Did  you  not  solemnly  pledge  me  your  word 
four  days  ago,  your  excellency,  to  submit  to  my 
treatment  for  two  weeks,  and  adhere  to  my  in- 
structions ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  I  think  I  have  kept  my  word.  I 
have  swallowed  your  medicines,  pills,  and  powders, 
rubbed  in  your  salves,  and  applied  your  plasters, 
in  accordance  with  your  directions,  although  I 
must  say  that  all  this  did  not  help  me  any." 

"  But  your  eyes  have  not  grown  any  worse,  and 
they  will  soon  improve,  if  you  continue  my  treat- 
ment." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  want  me  to  do,  then  ?  " 

*'  You  must  stay  here.  You  must  not  be  six  or 
eight  hours  on  horseback  ;  you  must  not  expose 
yourself  so  long  to  the  dust  and  sun." 

"  What !  1  am  not  to  participate  in  the  entrance 

*  Yarnhagen,  "Lif-  of  BHcher,"1  p.  882. 


of  the  monarchs  into  Paris  ?  "  cried  Blucher,  in- 
dignantly. 

"  I  implore  your  excellency  not  to  do  so,"  said 
the  physician,  in  an  impressive  tone.  "  Give  your- 
self a  few  days'  rest  and  recreation,  and  your  eyes 
will  get  well ;  but  if  you  expose  yourself  to-day  I 
shall  never  again  cross  your  threshold,  for  I  do 
not  care  to  be  disgraced  by  the  report  that  Field- 
Marshal  Blucher  lost  his  eyesight  while  under  my 
care  ;  and  I  tell  you,  you  will  be  blind,  and  then 
I  can  do  nothing  for  you." 

"  Stay  here,  your  excellency,"  begged  Gneisenau  ; 
"  do  not  trifle  with  your  dear  eyes,  destined  to  see 
still  many  beautiful  things,  and  gladden  the  world 
by  their  heroic  glances  1  What  can  a  triumph  of 
a  few  hours'  duration  be  to  you  to  whom  every  day 
will  be  a  triumph,  and  whom  delivered  Germany 
awaits  to  greet  with  manifestations  of  love  and 
gratitude  ?  " 

"  Ah,  it  is  not  for  the  sake  of  the  triumph  that 
I  wish  to  go,"  cried  Blucher,  morosely.  "  But  I 
have  sworn,  for  seven  years,  and  it  has  been  my 
only  consolation,  that,  in  spile  of  Bonaparte,  I 
would  make  my  triumphal  entrance  into  Paris,  as 
Bonaparte  did  into  Berlin,  and  now  you  insist  on 
my  not  fulfilling  my  oath  !  " 

"You  will  nevertheless  make  your  entrance  into 
Paris,"  exclaimed  Gneisenau ;  "  though  your  per- 
son be  absent,  your  name  will  float  as  our  banner 
of  victory  over  the  monarchs,  and  all  know  full 
well  that  Blucher  is  the  conqueror." 

"  Stay  ! "  begged  Voelzke  ;  "  think  of  the  pain 
which  you  have  already  suffered,  and  of  that 
you  will  suffer,  and  of  which  I  give  yov  pufficient 
warning." 

"Yes,  field-marshal,"  begged  llennemann,  with 
tearful  eyes,  "  pray  do  what  the  doctor  says ;  do 
not  hazard  your  sight ;  for,  let  me  say,  field-mar- 
shal, a  blind  man  is  like  a  pipe  that  will  not  draw  ; 
both  of  them  will  go  out." 

"Well,  I  do  not  care,"  cried  Blucher,  "I  will 
stay.  It  w  ill  not  hurt  me.  My  task  is  performed, 
and  it  makes  no  difference  to  me  how  I  enter  Paris. 
I  have  my  share  of  the  victory,  and  no  one  can 
take  it  from  me.  He  has  been  cast  down,  and  none 
will  deny  that  I  assisted*" 


NAPOLEON  AT  FONTAINEBLEAU. 


293 


"  Well,  I  think  I  have  also  assisted  a  little  in 

rt,"  said  Christian,  solemnly  ;   "  for  had  I  not  al- 

kept  the  pipes  in  so  good  a  state,  the  field 

'.a\\  would  not  have  had  such  successful  ideas, 

nor  could  he  have  so  well  said,  '  Forward  !'  " 

"You  are  right,  pipe-master,"  said  Blucher, 
pleasantly.  "  The  pipe — but  what  is  that  ?  Was 
not  that  a  gun,  and  there  another  ?  Have  the 
negotiations  miscarried,  after  all,  and  the  bombard- 
ment commenced  in  earnest  ?  " 

"  No,  your  excellency,"  said  Gneisenau,  smiling, 
"you  must  give  up  that  hope!  These  are  the 
guns  which  give  the  troops  the  signal  that  the 
monarchs  have  arrived,  and  that  the  march  into 
the  city  is  to  commence." 

"  Well,  good-by,  then  ;  make  haste  and  leave  !  " 
cried  Blucher,  pushing  Gneisenau  and  Voelzke 
toward  the  door. 

They  left,  and  the  field-marshal  was  again 
alone  with  Christian  Hennemann. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  give  me  a  pipe  ;  while  the 
others  are  making  their  entrance  into  Paris,  I  want 
ycu  to  afford  me  a  little  pleasure,  too.  Come  here, 
therefore,  and  sing  to  me  the  Low-German  song 
which  you  sang  to  me  on  the  day  when  you  ar- 
rived at  Kunzendorf." 

The  reports  of  the  artillery  continued ;  the 
monarchs  were  entering  Paris.  The  field-marshal 
in  the  mean  time  sat  with  the  green  bonnet  on  his 
head,  puffing  his  pipe.  Xo  one  was  with  him  but 
Christian  Henuemann,  who  sang  in  a  loud  voice, 
"  Spinn  dock,  (tpinn  dock,  mihn  llitt  leices  Dock- 
tinfff" 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

NAPOLEON      AT      FON'TAlNEBLEAl  . 

NAPOLEON  passed  seven  days  of  indescribable 
mental  anguish  at  Fontain-bleau.  Adversity  had 
befallen  him,  but  ho  bore  it  with  the  sembLiu-f 
of  calmness,  uttering  no  comphint.  His 
the  cold,  inscrutable  face  of  the  emperor,  such  as 
it  had  been  on  his  triumphal  entrance  into  Berlin 


and  Madrid,  after  the  victories  of  Austerlitz  and 
Jena,  in  the  days  of  Erfurt  and  Tilsit,  at  the  confla- 
gration of  Moscow,  at  the  Beresina,  and  at  Leipsic. 
He  gave  no  expression  to  his  soul's  agony.  It 
was  only  in  the  dead  of  night  that  his  faithful 
servants  heard  him  sometimes  sigh,  pacing  his 
room,  restless  and  melancholy.  He  did  not  yet 
feel  wholly  discouraged ;  he  still  hoped.  His 
bravest  marshals  were  still  with  him  ;  his  Old 
Guard  had  not  yet  gone,  and  at  Paris  there  were 
many  devoted  friends,  because  they  owed  to  him 
honor  and  riches. 

He  was  hopeful  that  Marmont's  troops  would 
arrive  at  Fontainebleau,  when,  concentrating  all 
his  corps,  he  would  march  with  them  and  recon- 
quer his  capital.  Engrossed  with  this  idea,  he  was 
alone  in  his  cabinet;  bent  over  his  maps,  he  ex- 
amined the  various  positions  of  bis  troops,  and  con- 
sidered when  they  might  all  reach  him.  But 
while  he  was  thinking  of  war,  his  marshals  were 
thinking  of  peace.  They  had  withdrawn  into  one 
of  the  remote  apartments  of  Fontainebleau  for  the 
purpose  of  holding  a  secret  consultation.  Ther 
were  his  old  comrades  Ney,  Prince  de  la  Moskwa; 
Macdonald,  Duke  de  Tarento ;  Lefebvre,  Duke  de 
Dantzic ;  Oudinot,  Duke  de  Reggio — all  of  them 
owing  their  glory  to  Napoleon :  it  was,  therefore, 
pardonable  if  he  confided  in  their  gratitude — but 
gratitude  to  the  fallen,  who  had  nothing  more  to 
give,  and  whose  misfortunes  resembled  an  infec- 
tious disease,  repelling  even  his  dearest  friends. 

"He  is  lost,"  said  Oudinot,  in  an  undertone; 
"he  is  on  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  and  those 
who  abide  by  him  will  fall  with  him." 

"We  must,  therefore,  leave  him,"  whispered 
Lefebvre.  "  We  :ire  unable  to  keep  him  back  ; 
prudence  commands  us  to  keep  aloof." 

"  We  have  suffered  and  bled  for  him  for  years," 
said  Macdonald  ;  "  it  is  time  now  for  him  to  suffer 
and  bleed  for  us.  His  death  would  be  a  relief." 

"  Yes,"  murmured  Ney,  "  his  death  would  give 
us  a  new  life.  But  he  will  not  die  ;  his  heart  ia 
made  of  bronze,  and  will  not  break." 

l>  No,  he  will  not  die  voluntarily,"  said  Oudinot. 

The  marshals  paused  and  looked  at  each  other 
with  dark  and  significant  glances.  All  seemed  to 


294 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER 


read  each  other's  souls,  and  to  divine  the  sinister 
thoughts  that  began  to  find  utterance. 

"No,  he  will  not  die  voluntarily,"  repeated 
Macdonald.  "  But  the  millions  of  soldiers  that 
have  fallen  on  the  battle-fields  have  not  died  vol- 
untarily, either:  Napoleon  drove  them  into  the 
jaws  of  death.  Now  he  is  no  longer  any  thing 
but  a  mere  soldier ;  could  we  be  blamed,  if,  in 
order  to  save  France,  we  should  drive  him  into  the 
grave  ? " 

"  But  how  could  we  do  it  ?  "  asked  Lefebvre. 
"He  has  with  him  Caulaincourt,  Berthier,  and 
Maret,  who  would  certainly  be  capable  of  showing, 
like  Anthony,  the  blood-stained  cloak  of  Csesar  to 
the  people,  and  of  bringing  upon  us  a  destiny  such 
as  befell  Brutus  and  Cassius.  I  am  not  desirous 
of  seeing  my  house  set  on  fire,  and  of  being  com- 
pelled to  flee." 

"We  ought  not  to  imitate  Caesar's  generals," 
said  Ney,  gloomily.  "  He  has  lived  like  a  demi-god, 
and  must  die  like  a  demi-god.  Not  a  vestige  of 
him  must  remain ;  he  must,  like  Romulus,  ascend 
to  the  gods." 

"Let  us  consider  what  ought  to  be  done,"  said 
Macdonald. 

They  whispered  in  low  tones,  so  that  they  them- 
selves scarcely  heard  each  other.  After  a  pro- 
longed secret  consultation,  they  seemed  agreed  as 
to  what  should  be  done,  and  as  if  there  were  now 
no  longer  any  doubt  or  objection. 

"  Caulaincourt,  Bertrand,  and  Maret,  are  alone 
to  be  feared,"  said  Oudinot,  loudly.  "  If  they  re- 
fuse to  be  silent,  they  must  be  silenced !  And 
Berthier  ?  what  are  we  to  do  with  Berthier  ?  " 

"  We  shall  tell  him  all  when  it  is  over,"  respond- 
ed Macdonald,  with  a  shrug.  "Berthier  is  not 
formidable ;  he  has  a  heart  of  cotton,  and  a  head 
of  wind." 

All  laughed  ;  Oudinot  then  said,  in  a  grave  and 
menacing  voice :  "  It  is  time  for  us  to  come  to  a 
decision.  We  are  already  i»  April,  and  nothing 
decided ;  the  Emperor  of  Russia  is  impatient,  and 
the  future  King  of  France  will  never  forgive  us  if 
we  delay  his  return  to  Paris.  Come,  gentlemen, 
,et  us  for  the  last  time  try  the  way  of  kindness 
Mid  persuasion.  Let  us  openly  and  honestly  ad- 


vise Napoleon  to  abdicate ;  he  must  make  up  his 
mind  to  do  so,  or — " 

"Or  we  shall  compel  him,"  said  Macdonald. 
'  He  has  often  enough  compelled  us  to  do  what 
was  repugnant  to  us.  Come,  gentlemen,  let  us 
to  the  emperor."  * 

The  emperor  was  still  bending  over  his  maps 
when  the  four  marshals  entered  his  cabinet. 
With  a  quick  glance  he  read  in  their  pale,  sullen 
faces  that  they  came  to  him,  not  as  friends  and 
servants,  but  as  adversaries.  "  I  am  glad,"  he  said 
calmly,  "  that  you  anticipate  my  request,  and  come 
to  me  when  I  intended  to  send  for  you.  We  must 
hold  a  council  of  war,  marshals.  I  have  deter- 
mined to  make  a  general  assault  upon  the  allies 
to-morrow,  and  I  wished  to  assemble  you  here  to 
lay  the  details  of  my  plan  before  you.  One  of 
you  may  go  and  call  Berthier,  who  should  partici 
pate  in  our  deliberations." 

"  Sire,"  said  Ney,  in  a  harsh  tone,  "  before  en- 
tering into  deliberations  on  the  war,  we  should 
first  consider  whether  it  is  still  desirable."  Na- 
poleon cast  on  him  a  glance  which  once  would 
have  frozen  the  marshal's  blood,  but  which  now 
made  no  impression  on  him.  "  I  believe,"  added 
Ney,  "  that  France  can  no  longer  bear  the  burden 
of  war.  She  is  exhausted,  bleeding  from  many 
wounds,  and  would  sink  to  certain  ruin  if  she 
continue  a  useless  struggle.  Her  finances  cannot 
be  restored,  for  the  people  are  destitute.  Our 
fields  are  uncultivated,  our  industry  is  paralyzed  ; 
our  workshops  and  stores  are  closed,  our  com- 
merce is  prostrated,  for  France  is  destitute  of 
money,  credit,  and  laborers.  What  means  has 
your  majesty  to  shield  her  from  the  most  terrible 
misfortunes  ?  " 

"  I  have  but  one — to  attack  the  allies  to-mor- 
row, expelling  those  who  have  caused  all  the 
misfortunes  of  France." 

"  Sire,  our  country  is  tired  of  war,"  cried  Ney ; 
"  she  wants  peace." 

"  Is  that  your  opinion,  marshals  ?  "  asked  tne 
emperor,  hastily. 
"  Yes,  sire,  it  is." 


Memoirs  of  the  Duchess  d'Abrantea.* 


XAPOLEOX   AT   FOXTAIXEBLEAU. 


295 


"  Well,  then,"  said  Xapoleon,  after  a  moment's 
reflection,  "  do  you  know  of  any  way  of  restoring 
peace?  " 

The  marshals  were  silent.  Their  lips  seemed  to 
shrink  from  uttering  the  thoughts  of  their  souls ; 
but  the  Prince  de  la  Moskwa,  Marshal  Xey,  over- 
came his  timidity.  "  Sire,"  he  remarked,  "  the 
allies  say  in  their  proclamation  that  it  is  not 
France  against  which  they  wage  war." 

"Not  France,  but  myself!"  cried  Xapoleon. 
"  Ah,  you  come  to  propose  an  abdication  to  me  ?  " 

"  AVe  come  to  implore  your  majesty  to  make  a 
last  great  sacrifice." 

"  Sire,"  exclaimed  Oudinot,  "  let  your  heroic 
soul  conquer  itself,  and  restore  peace  to  France." 

"  She  will  forever  bless  you,"  said  Lefebvre. 

"  Restore  to  France  the  peace  for  which  she  has 
been  vainly  longing  for  twenty-five  years  !  "  cried 
Macdonald. 

Xow  that  they  had  all  spoken,  there  was  an 
anxious,  breathless  pause.  Suddenly  Xapoleon 
passed  over  to  his  desk.  He  cast  a  last  glance, 
full  of  pride,  contempt,  and  anger,  on  his  four 
marshals ;  then,  seating  himself,  he  took  up  a 
pen  with  a  firm  hand,  and  wrote.  The  marshals 
stood  in  silence,  and  looked  at  him  in  an  embar- 
rassed manner.  Laying  aside  the  pen,  and  rising, 
he  held  up  the  paper  on  which  he  had  written, 
and  motioned  to  Marshal  Xey.  "  Here,  Prince  de 
la  Moskwa,"  said  Xapoleon,  u  read  to  the  mar- 
shals what  I  have  written." 

/  read  in  a  tremulous  voice :  "  '  The  allied 
powers,  having  proclaimed  that  the  Emperor  Xa- 
poleon is  the  sole  obstacle  to  the  rei'-stablishment 
of  peace  in  Europe,  the  Emperor  Xapoleon,  faith- 
ful to  his  oath,  declares  that  he  is  ready  to  de- 
scend from  the  throne,  to  quit  France,  and  even 
life  itself,  for  the  good  of  the  country,  inseparable 
from  the  rights  of  his  son,  of  the  regency  of  the 
empress,  and  of  the  maintenance  of  the  laws  of  the 
empire.' "  * 

"You  have  willed  it  so,"  said  Xapoleon,  when 
Xey  had  finished.  "  Macdonald  and  NYy,  with  Cau- 
laincourt,  will  immediately  repair  with  this  docu- 

•Fmin,  "Manuscrit  de  1814,"  p.  221. 


ment  to  Park.  On  the  way  they  will  meet  Mor- 
tier,  and  request  him  to  accompany  them.  The 
four  dukes  will  present  my  conditional  abdication 
to  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and  treat  with  him  in 
regard  to  the  future  of  my  son  and  the  regency  of 
my  consort." 

On  the  7th  of  April  the  Duke  de  Vicenza  entered 
the  emperor's  cabinet,  pale  and  with  a  mournful 
air. 

"  Caulaincourt,"  cried  Xapoleon,  "  you  have  de- 
livered my  abdication  to  Alexander  ?  " 

"Yes,  sire,"  said  Caulaincourt,  sadly.  "Ah, 
sire,  I  bring  bad  news,  which  my  lips  almost  re 
fuse  to  utter  !  " 

"  Speak,  I  am  courageous  enough  to  hear  all ; 
be,  then,  courageous  enough  to  tell  me  all.  I  wish 
no  concealment  whatever — I  desire  to  know  the 
whole  truth." 

"  Well,  sire,  all  is  lost.  The  Emperor  Alexan- 
der has  issued  to-day  a  manifesto,  which  has  been 
placarded  over  every  part  of  Paris,  to  the  effect 
that  *  he  would  no  longer  treat  with  Bonaparte, 
nor  with  any  member  of  his  family.'  " 

"  Ah,  the  perfidious  wretch  ! "  murmured  Napo- 
leon, "  he  plighted  me  once  eternal  friendship  and 
fidelity. — Proceed,  Caulaincourt !  What  says  the 
so-called  provisional  government  presided  over  by 
M.  Talleyrand,  the  renegade  priest,  whom  I  made 
a  man  of  distinction,  whom  I  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  a  prince,  on  whom  I  lavished  honors,  and  who 
has  now  become  the  leader  of  the  royalists? 
What  say  M.  Talleyrand,  and  the  provisional  gov- 
ernment, and  the  senate,  who  swore  allegiance  to 
me?" 

"  Sire,  the  senate  solemnly  declared  yesterday, 
the  6th  of  April,  that  the  Emperor  Xapoleon  has 
forfeited  his  throne,  because,  by  abusing  the  pow- 
mferred  on  him,  by  despotism,  by  trampling 
under  foot  the  liberty  of  the  press,  by  undertaking 
in  violation  of  right,  and  by  his  openly  mani- 
of  man  and  human  law,  be  has 
rendered  himself  unworthy  of  the  sovereignty  of 
the  nation.  The  senate,  besides,  have  called  back 
the  Hourbons  to  the  throne  of  France.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  declaration,  the  provisional  govern, 
ernment  has  proclaimed  to-day  that,  till  the  ar 


296 


NAPOLEON  AND   BLUCHER. 


rival  of  King  Louis  XVIII.,  the  administration  is 
exclusively  in  their  hands." 

"  Ah,  the  traitors!"  cried  Napoleon.  "They 
have  dared  to  proclaim  such  sentiments  !  to  carry 
their  impudence  so  far  !  See  what  venal  crea- 
tures those  men  are  !  As  long  as  fortune  was 
faithful  to  me,  they,  who  now  call  themselves  the 
provisional  government  and  senate,  in  the  name 
of  France,  were  my  most  sycophantic  servants. 
A  sign  from  me  was  an  order  for  the  senate, 
who  always  did  more  than  was  desired  of  them, 
and  not  a  whisper  was  heard  against  the  abuses 
of  power.  Ah,  they  charge  me  with  despising 
them — tell  me,  Caulaincourt,  will  not  the  world 
see  now  whether  or  not  I  had  reasons  for  my 
opinion  ?  "  * 

"  Sire,  it  is  true,  your  majesty  has  met  with 
many  ingrates  during  your  career,  and  will  still 
meet  with  them,"  said  Caulaincourt,  sighing. 
"  Perfidy  seems  to  have  become  an  epidemic." 

"  Ah,  I  see  you  have  not  yet  told  me  every 
thing.  Speak  !  In  the  first  place,  what  was  the 
result  of  your  negotiations  with  the  Emperor  Al- 
exander ?  " 

"Sire,  if  your  majesty  agrees  to  renounce,  for 
yourself  and  your  heirs,  the  throne  of  France, 
the  allied  sovereigns  offer  Corsica  or  Elba  as 
a  sovereign  principality,  and  France  will  pay 
your  majesty  an  annual  pension  of  two  million 
francs." 

"  I  am  to  renounce  the  throne,  too,  for  my  sou 
— my  dear  little  King  of  Rome?"  cried  Napo- 
poleon,  mournfully.  "  No,  never  !  I  cannot  de- 
prive my  son  of  his  inheritance.  This  is  too 
much.  I  will  put  myself  at  the  head  of  my  army 
and  run  the  risk  of  any  calamities,  rather  than 
submit  to  a  humiliation  worse  than  them  all ! " 

"  Your  majesty  has  no  army.  Treason  has  in- 
fected your  marshals." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  Ah,  it  is  true,  you  come 
alone !  Where  are  the  marshals  ?  Where  is  Ney  ? 
Where  is  Macdonald  ? '» 

"  Sire,  they  have  remained  in  Paris." 

"  Ah,  I  understand,"  exclaimed  Napoleon,  with 


Fain,  "  Maimscrit  de  1814,"  p.  225. 


a  scornful  laugh  ;  "  they  are  waiting  there  foi 
King  Louis  XVIII.,  in  order  to  offer  him  theii 
services.  But  where  is  Marmont?  You  know 
well  that  I  am  greatly  attached  to  Marmont,  and 
I  long  to  see  him.  Why  does  he  not  come  ?  " 

"  Sire,  Marshal  Marmont  has  passed  over  to  the 
allies  with  a  corps  of  ten  thousand  men." 

"Marmont!"  cried  Napoleon,  almost  with  a 
scream — "  Marmont  a  traitor  !  That  is  false — 
that  is  impossible  !  Marmont  cannot  have  be- 
trayed me ! " 

"  Sire,  he  did  betray  you.  He  marched  the 
troops,  notwithstanding  their  undisguised  reluc- 
tance, to  Versailles,  in  order  there  to  join  the 
allies,  after  receiving  from  them  the  solemn 
promise  that  the  French  soldiers  should  be  treat- 
ed as  friends." 

"  Marmont  has  betrayed  me  !  "  murmured  Na- 
poleon. "Marmont,  whom  I  loved  as  a  son — 
who  owes  me  all — who- — "  His  voice  faltered  ; 
his  heart  was  rent,  and,  sinking  on  a  chair,  he 
buried  his  quivering  face  in  his  hands. 


CHAPTER    LIV. 


A      SOUL      IN     PURGATORY. 


IT  was  the  llth  of  April.  Napoleon,  at  Fon- 
taint-bleau,  sat  at  his  desk  and  stared  at  the  paper 
before  him.  It  contained  an  absolute  resignation 
of  his  throne  for  himself  and  his  family.  After 
signing  this  document,  he  was  no  more  Emperor 
of  France,  nor  his  son  King  of  Rome,  nor  his  con- 
sort empress — perhaps,  no  longer  even  his  wife. 
By  signing  this  paper,  he  accepted  all  the  condi- 
tions imposed  on  him  by  the  allies  ;  that  is  to 
say,  he  descended  from  the  sovereignty  of  all  his 
states  and  went  to  the  little  island  of  Elba,  to  live 
there  a  pensioner  of  Europe ;  his  consort  wore  no 
longer,  like  him,  the  imperial  title,  but  became 
Duchess  of  Parma ;  and  the  King  of  Rome  be- 
came not  the  heir  of  his  father,  the  Emperor  of 
Elba,  but  the  heir  of  his  mother,  the  Duchess  of 
Parma,  and  the  title  of  "Duke  de  Reichrtadt 7' 


A  SOUL  IN   PURGATORY. 


297 


*us  to  be  given  bim.     He  renounced  not  only 
Prance,  but  his  wife  and  his  son  ! 

Napoleon  was  fondly  and  sincerely  attached  to 
Maria  Louisa,  and  he  loved  the  King  of  Rome 
with  passionate  tenderness.  Before  consenting, 
therefore,  to  affix  his  signature  to  this  act  of  ab- 
dication, he  wished  to  know  whether  Maria  Louisa 
agreed  to  it,  and  whether  she  would  not  at  least 
ask  the  allies,  one  of  whom  was  her  own  father, 
to  permit  her  to  reside  with  her  son  and  her  hus- 
band on  the  island  of  Elba,  sharing  the  emperor's 
exile.  For  some  time  he  had  not  heard  from  his 
consort ;  he  wrote  to  her  every  day,  but  for  six 
days  past  no  answers  came.  He  did  not,  however, 
distrust  her;  he  knew  that  Maria  Louisa  loved 
him.  His  heart  longed  for  her  and  his  child.  He 
had  sent  Berthier  to  Orleans  the  day  before  with 
a  letter  for  Maria  Louisa.  He  was  to  tell  him 
what  his  consort  was  thinking  and  wishing.  If 
she  was  courageous  enough  to  claim  her  rights, 
nnd  desired  to  do  so,  Berthier  was  to  convey  her 
to  the  emperor,  and,  at  Fontainebleau,  Maria 
Louisa  was  to  declare  to  her  father  that  she  in- 
iisted  on  her  sacred  right  of  staying  with  her  hus- 
band. Napoleon  expected  this,  and  he  was  ner- 
vous and  anxious,  waiting  for  the  return  of  bis 
general,  and  in  hope  that  Maria  Louisa  would  ac- 
company him. 

He  contemplated  the  paper,  and,  while  reading 
e  words  of  despair,  he  thought  of  the  past — of 
days  when  Europe  had  been  at  his  feet,  and 
when  he  himself  showed  no  mercy.     The  door  of 
tne  cabinet  was  softly  opened,  and  the  Duke  de 
no  entered.     "  Maret,"  he  exclaiinc-1,  "  you 
come  to  inform  me  that  Berthier  has  returned,  do 
you  not  ?  " 

I"  Yes,  sire." 
"And  he -he  is  alone?" 
'•  Yes,  sire,  he  is  alone." 
Napoleon  sighed.     "  Admit  Berthicr,"  he  said, 

•  "but  stay  here." 
Maret  stepped  to  the  door  and  opetu-d  it.     The 
Prince  of  Neufchatrl  entered,  mournful  and 
A  single  glance  told   Napoleon  that  his   m 
had  failed. 

"  Well,  Berthier,  you  have  seen  the  empress  ?  " 


"  I  have,  sire.  I  met  the  empress  leaving  Or- 
leans." 

"Ah,  then,  she  is  coming!"  exclaimed  Napo 
Icon. 

"  No,  sire.  Prince  Metternich  had  paid  her  a 
visit  on  the  preceding  day,  and  delivered  to  her 
autograph  letters  from  her  father  the  Emperor 
of  Austria.  He  had  asked  his  daughter  to  repair 
to  Rair.bouillet,  where  he  would  meet  her." 

"  And  Louisa  consented  ?  " 

"She  did,  sire.  Her  majesty  told  me  with 
tears  in  her  eyes  that  nothing  remained  for  her 
but  to  submit  to  the  will  of  her  father,  because 
only  his  intercession  could  secure  her  own  future 
and  that  of  her  son.  She  deplored  that  she  was 
not  at  liberty  to  come  to  Fontainebleau,  but 
stated  she  had  solemnly  pledged  her  word  to 
Prince  Metternich,  who,  in  the  emperor's  name, 
had  required  a  pledge  neither  to  see  nor  to  cor- 
respond with  your  majesty." 

"  And  she  did  not  indignantly  reject  this  base 
demand  ?  "  cried  the  emperor.  "  She  did  not  re- 
member that  she  is  my  wife,  and  that  she  plighted 
her  faith  to  me  ?  " 

"Sire,  the  empress  said  that,  for  her  son's  sake, 
she  was  allowed  now  only  to  consider  herself  a 
princess  of  Austria,  and  the  Austrian  princesses 
were  all  educated  in  unconditional  and  unmur- 
muring obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  emperor 
their  father.*  Hence,  she  obeyed  her  father  now, 
in  order  to  enjoy  at  a  later  time  the  happiness  of 
belonging  to  your  majesty.  For,  as  soon  as  her 
future  was  secured,  as  soon  as  the  duchy  of  Par- 
ma was  settled  upon  her,  and  her  son  declared  its 
heir,  nothing  would  prevent  her  from  rejoining 
her  beloved  husband ;  and  if  your  majesty  agreed 
to  accept  the  island  of  Elba,  the  empress  would 
certainly  soon  repair  thither.  She  proposed  that, 
prohibited  from  directly  corresponding  with  your 
majesty,  you  might  have  intercourse  through  your 
private  sreivtaries  ;  your  majesty  might  have 
Baron  Fain  write  to  her  all  you  wished  her  to 
km»\v,  and  she  would  do  the  same  through  Baron 
val." 

*  Meneval,  "  MSmolres,"  etc  voL  it,  p.  80. 


298 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHEK. 


"A  genuine  woman's  stratagem,"  murmured 
Napoleon,  gloomily,  to  himself.  "She  is  desti- 
tute of  courage,  and  does  not  love  me  enough 
to  brave  her  father. — Berthier,"  he  then  asked 
aloud,  "  did  you  see  my  son  ?  " 

"No,  sire,  they  would  not  let  me  see  the 
yrince  ;  they  feared  lest  it  would  excite  him 
too  much,  and  remind  him  of  the  past.  For 
the  King  of  Rome  is  constantly  longing  for  his 
father." 

"  And  his  father  cannot  see  him — cannot  call 
him  to  his  side !  Oh,  Berthier,  this  is  painful, 
very  painful ! " 

"  But  your  majesty  will  soon  be  reunited  with 
him,"  said  Maret,  feelingly.  "Sign  the  act  of 
abdication  ;  go  to  Elba,  sire,  and  no  one  can  pre- 
vent the  empress  from  coming  to  you  with  her 
eon.  She  wishes  and  has  a  right  to  do  so." 

"  Well,  then,  be  it  so,"  said  the  emperor,  draw- 
ing a  deep  breath.  "  I  will  sign  every  thing.  I 
will  abdicate  ;  I  will  sign  this  second  treaty,  which 
makes  me  Emperor  of  Elba  !  My  wife  and  my 
son  must  be  restored  to  me  ! "  He  quickly 
gtepped  to  the  desk,  and  signed  the  two  papers 
with  a  steady  hand. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  flinging  the  pen  into  a  corner 
of  the  room,  "  now  I  am  no  longer  Emperor  of 
France,  but  at  the  same  time  no  longer  a  pris- 
oner at  Fontainebleau.  At  Elba  I  shall  be  free, 
at  least ;  I  shall  be  surrounded  by  the  brave  sol- 
diers of  my  Old  Guard  ;  I  shall  see  again  my  wife 
and  my  son.  That  is  to  say,"  he  gloomily  mur- 
mured to  himself,  "  if  her  father  permits  them  to 
rejoin  me ;  for  without  his  permission  she  will 
not  come.  Louisa  is  a  princess  of  Austria,  and 
has,  therefore,  been  brought  up  in  obedience. 
Oh,  how  I  longed  for  the  consolation  of  her  pres- 
ence !  She  ought  not  to  have  left  me  alone  in 
these  days  ! "  Eis  lips  murmured  softly,  "  Jose- 
phine would  not  have  done  so  !  She  would  have 
gone  with  me  into  exile  ! "  He  sat  a  long  time 
absorbed  in  his  reflections,  which  whispered  to 
him  of  the  past,  and  of  Josephine.  He  felt 
that  they  moved  him  too  deeply,  and,  with  an 
impetuous  gesture,  he  jumped  up,  and,  proudly 
throwing  back  his  head,  exclaimed  :  "  Well,  then, 


I  have  submitted  to  my  fate,  and  shall  bear  it 
manfully.  We  shall  go  to  Elba,  then  !  You 
will  accompany  me,  my  friends,  and  I  shall  not 
be  alone?  Maret  and  Berthier,  you  will  not 
leave  me,  I  hope  ?  " 

"  Sire,  I  would  follow  your  majesty  to  the  end 
of  the  world  !  "  said  Maret,  tenderly. 

"  I  know  of  no  more  glorious  destiny  than  to 
remain  your  majesty's  faithful  servant,"  exclaimed 
Berthier,  emphatically.  "I  thank  you  for  per- 
mitting me  to  go  with  you  to  Elba,  and  I  joyfully 
accept  this  permission ;  but  as  I  have  to  make 
some  necessary  preparations,  I  request  two  days' 
leave  of  absence  of  your  majesty." 

While  Berthier  was  speaking,  the  emperor 
contemplated  him  with  painful  astonishment ; 
now  he  quickly  came  near  him,  and,  laying  his 
band  on  his  shoulder,  he  fixed  his  keen  eyes  on 
him,  as  if  he  wished  to  read  his  most  secret 
thoughts.  "  Berthier,"  he  said,  in  a  gentle,  im- 
ploring voice,  u  you  see  how  much  I  have  need 
of  consultation ;  how  necessary  it  is  for  me  to 
have  true  friends  about  me.  You  will,  the 
return  to-morrow,  will  you  not  ?  " 

"  Sire,  certainly,"  faltered  Berthier. 

Napoleon's  eyes  still  rested  on  the  pale,  ccn- 
fused  face  of  the  prince.  "Berthier,"  he  said, 
after  a  pause,  "  if  you  wish  to  leave  me,  tell  me  so 
frankly  and  sincerely." 

"  I  leave  you  ! "  exclaimed  Berthier.  "  Your 
majesty  knows  well  that  I  am  devoted  to  you 
with  immovable  fidelity — that  my  heart  can  never 
forget  you,  and  that  I  shall  always  be  your  obe- 
dient servant." 

"  Words,  words !  "  said  Napoleon,  shaking  his 
head.  "  Well,  then,  it  is  your  will :  go,  there- 
fore, to  Paris.  Attend  to  the  affairs  which 
you  have  more  at  heart  than  my  wishes.  Go, 
and — if  you  can,  come  back  soon !  " 

Berthier  wished  to  grasp  the  emperor's  "aand 
and  press  it  to  his  lips,  but  he  hastily  withdrew  it, 
and,  lilling  it  up,  pointed  with  an  imperious 
glance  at  the  door.  Berthier  bowed,  and,  walking 
backward,  approached  the  door  with  bent  head, 
and  departed.  The  emperor  looked  after  him 
long  and  gloomily ;  then  he  slowly  turned  hlg 


„„, 


UFI7ERSIT7 


"Josephine,  I  have  wrun*  many  tears  from  you,  but  Fate  has  avenged  you."  p. 


A  SOUL  IX  PURGATORY. 


299 


head  toward  tbe  Duke  dc  Bassano.     "  Maret,"  be 
Baid,  slowly,  "  Berthier  will  not  come  back." 

'•  What,  sire !  "  exclaimed  Maret,  in  dismay. 
"  Your  majesty  believes — " 

"  I  know  it,"  said  Napoleon,  slowly,  "  Bcrthier 
will  not  come  back  !  "  He  threw  himself  into  an 
easy-chair,  at  times  heaving  a  sigh,  out  without 
uttering  a  single  complaint ;  and  thus  he  sat  all 
day.  From  time  to  time  the  few  faithful  men 
who  had  remained  with  him  dared  to  speak,  but 
the  emperor,  starting  from  his  meditations,  only 
stared  at  them,  and  then  slowly  dropped  his  head 
again  on  his  breast.  At  dinner-time  Maret  en- 
deavored to  induce  him  to  go  to  the  table ;  but 
he  only  responded  by  indignantly  shaking  his 
head,  and  waving  him  toward  the  door. 

Evening  had  come,  and  the  emperor  still  sat 
alone  in  his  cabinet,  motionless  and  sad.  He  did 
not  hear  the  door  behind  him  softly  open ;  he 
did  not  see  a  dark,  veiled  female  form  that  had 
slowly  entered,  and  now,  as  if  overwhelmed  by 
grief,  leaned  against  the  wall.  Her  veil  prevented 
her,  perhaps,  from  seeing  Xapoleon  ;  she  threw 
it  back,  and  now  Josephine's  pale,  quivering  face 
seen.  She  fixed  her  eyes  on  him  with  an 
expression  of  boundless  tenderness,  and  then  lifted 
them  to  heaven  with  an  imploring  air,  softly 
rai-ing  her  arms,  and  her  lips  moving  in  inaudible 
prayer. 

The  emperor  did  not  yet  notice  her.  Josephine 
stepped  noi-el«'-sly  across  the  carpet,  and  laid 
her  hand  gently  on  his  head.  "  Xapoleon,"  she 
whimpered,  "  Xapoleon  ! " 

He  uttered  a  cry  and  jumped  up.  "Josephine," 
ho  i  xdaimed,  "  my  Josephine !  Oh,  now  I  am  no 
longer  alone  !  "  He  clasped  her  with  impassioned 
tenderness  in  his  arms ;  he  kissed  her  quivering 
li{s,  and  held  her  streaming  face  between  his 
hands,  gazing  at  it  with  the  tender  expression  of 
a  lover.  Encircling  her  with  his  arms,  and  no 
longer  able  to  restrain  his  heart,  he  laid  his  head 
on  her  shoulder,  and  wept  bitterly.  Recovering, 
his  face  resumed  its  inseruta'ile  • 
"Josephine,"  he  said,  "I  have  wrung  many 
tears  from  you,  but  Fate  has  avenged  you ;  I 
iiavj  wept,  too;  and  whit  is  worse  than  tears  is 


that  which  is  gnawing  at  my  heart.  I  thank  you, 
Josephine,  for  coming  to  me.  All  have  deserted 
me!" 

"  I  know  it,  Xapoleon,"  whispered  Josephine, 
smiling  amid  tears,  "  and  that  is  why  I  am  here. 
You  will  not  go  all  alone  to  Elba ;  I  shall  go  with 
jou.  Xo,  Bonaparte,  no!  do  not  shake  your 
head  ;  do  not  reject  me  !  I  have  a  right  to  ac- 
company you ;  for,  whatever  men  may  say,  I 
was  your  wife  and  am  your  wife,  and  what  God 
has  joined  together  no  man  can  sunder.  My 
soul  is  one  with  yours.  I  love  you  to-day  as 
tenderly  as  I  did  on  the  day  when  I  stood  with 
you  before  the  altar  and  plighted  my  fidelity  to 
you  ;  I  love  you  now  even  more  /ntensely,  for  you 
are  unfortunate,  and  have  need  of  my  love.  Bid 
me,  therefore,  not  go  any  more.  She  is  not  here, 
and  her  place  by  your  side,  which  she  has  de- 
serted, belongs  to  me !  " 

"  Xo,"  said  Xapoleon,  gravely,  "  let  her  ab- 
sence remind  her  of  her  duty.  I  will  not  give  my 
son's  mother  a  pretext  for  staying  away  from  me  ; 
she  shall  not  say  that  she  cannot  rejoin  me  be- 
cause I  have  yielded  to  another  woman  the  place 
that  belongs  to  her.  Xo,  Josephine,  she  must 
not  be  able  to  reproach  me.  I  thank  you  for 
coming,  but  you  have  come  to  take  leave  of  me. 
I  have  seen  you — your  faithful  love  has  been  a 
balm  to  my  heart.  Xow,  farewell !  " 

"  Then,  you  bid  me  go  already  ?  "  cried  Jose- 
phine, reproachfully;  "  oh,  Bonaparte,  let  me  stay 
here  at  least  till  your  departure.  Xo  one  will 
betray  to  her  that  I  am  here." 

"  It  would  remain  no  secret,  Josephine,  and  it 
would  be  used  to  excuse  her,  and  to  accuse  me. 
Go,  then,  and  take  with  you  the  consciousness 
that  you  have  afforded  me  the  last  joy  of  my 
life." 

"  Oh,  Bonaparte,  you  break  my  heart !  "  mur- 
mured Josephine,  leaning  her  head  on  his  shoul- 
der. "  I  cannot  leave  you,  I  cannot  bear  to  se« 
you  go  alone  into  exile." 

"  Fate  has  decreed  it,  and  so  has  the  evil  star 
that  arose  upon  my  path  when  I  left  you,  Jose- 
phine !     Let  this  be  my  farewell.     Xow,  go ! " 
No,   Bonaparte,"    she    cried,    passionately ; 


300 


NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER. 


11  tell  me  not  to  go  if  you  do  not  wish  me  to  die ! 
Your  misfortunes  have  pierced  my  heart.  My 
only  hope  of  life  is  by  your  side,  for  sorrow  at 
the  remembrance  of  your  misfortunes  will  kill 
me" 

A  strange  smile  played  around  the  emperor's 
lips.  "  I  do  not  pity  those  who  die,"  he  said ; 
11  death  is  a  kind  friend,  and  pray  God  that  He 
may  soon  send  this  friend  to  me !  "  He  kissed 
her  forehead  and  conducted  her  gently  to  the 
door.  "  Go,  my  Josephine,"  he  said ;  "  this  is 
the  last  sacrifice  which  I  shall  ask  of  you ! " 

"I  go!"  she  sighed.  "Farewell,  Bonaparte, 
farewell ! "  She  fixed  on  him  a  look  full  of  love 
and  grief.  "  We  shall  never  meet  again !  " 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  slowly  and  solemnly,  lifting  his 
hand  toward  heaven,  "  we  shall  meet  again  1 " 

"  I  shall  await  you  there  ! "  she  said,  with  an 
expression  of  intense  love  and  sorrow. 

The  door  closed;  Napoleon  was  again  alone; 
he  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  as  if  still  be- 
holding her  pale,  smiling  face,  and  hearing  her 
sweet  voice.  "  She  will  await  me  there  ! "  he 
murmured.  "  But  why  should  she  await  me  ? 
Why  should  she  die,  and  I  live  ?  And  why  must 
I  live  ?  "  he  asked,  in  a  loud,  and  almost  joyful 
tone.  "Why  shall  I  suffer  these  mean,  cowardly 
creatures,  who  formerly  lay  in  the  dust  before 
me,  now  to  enjoy  their  triumph  ?  Why  must  I 
live  ?  "  He  sank  into  his  chair,  thinking  of  the 
disgrace  soon  to  be  brought  upon  him,  remem- 
bering that  each  of  the  allied  sovereigns  would 
send  an  envoy  to  Fontainebleau,  and  that  he  was 
to  be  transported  to  Elba — escorted,  like  a  caged 
lion,  by  Russian,  Prussian,  and  Austrian  commis- 
sioners !  His  heart  for  a  moment  grew  strong 
in  his  anguish.  He  jumped  up,  rushed  to  his 
desk,  pulled  out  the  drawers,  and  opened  a  secret 
compartment.  There  lay  a  small  black  silken 
bag.  Taking  it  out,  he  cut  it  open,  and  drew  a 
package  from  it.  "  Ha  ! "  he  exclaimed,  joyfully, 
"now  I  have  the  kind  friend  that  will  deliver 
me  !  They  want  to  drag  me  through  the  country 
a?  a  prisoner  !  But  thou,  blessed  poison,  wilt  re- 
lease me ! " 

In  the  night  of  the  13th  of  April,  Constant, 


Napoleon's  valet  de  chambre,  was  av\  akened  by 
an  extraordinary  groaning,  proceeding  from  Napo 
Icon's  bedroom,  whither  Constant  hastened.  Yes, 
it  was  the  emperor  who  was  suffering.  His  face 
was  deadly  pale ;  his  limbs  were  quivering ;  a  pa- 
per lay  on  the  floor  in  front  of  him  ;  on  the 
table  by  his  side  stood  a  glass,  in  which  were  still 
seen  some  drops  of  a  whitish  color.  Constant 
rushed  toward  him.  He  gazed  at  his  sen-ant 
with  fixed  looks,  and  murmured,  "  I  suffer  dread- 
fully !  Fire  is  consuming  my  bowels ;  but  it  does 
not  kill  me  ! " 

Uttering  a  cry,  and  hastening  from  the  room, 
Constant  went  for  the  domestic  surgeon,  Dr. 
Ivan,  Maret,  and  Caulaincourt.  They  appeared 
in  the  utmost  consternation,  and  surrounded  the 
easy-chair  on  which  the  emperor  still  sat.  Dr. 
Ivan  felt  his  forehead,  which  was  covered  with 
clammy  perspiration ;  and  his  pulse  was  feeble 
and  sluggish,  but  still  throbbing.  He  recognized 
his  physician,  and  his  livid  lips  murmured  almost 
inaudibly,  "  Ivan,  I  have  taken  poison,  that  which 
you  gave  me  one  day  in  Russia ;  but  it  has  lost 
its  efficacy  !  It  does  not  kill,  while  it  causes  me 
excruciating  pain." 

Ivan  went  weeping  out  of  the  room  to  prepare 
a  remedy, 

Napoleon  turned  his  eyes  with  an  expression 
of  agony  toward  Maret  and  Caulaincourt,  who 
were  kneeling  before  him.  "My  friends,"  he 
said,  "  I  sought  death  !  But  you  see  God  did  not 
will  it !  He  commands  me  to  live  and  suffer."  * 

Or  the  morning  after  this  night  of  terror,  the 
emperor  rose  from  his  couch,  and  his  face,  which 
for  the  last  few  days  had  been  so  gloomy,  as- 
sumed now  a  serene  expression.  "  Providence 
has  spared  me  for  other  purposes,"  he  murmured 
to  himself.  "Well,  then,  I  shall  live!  To  the 
living  belongs  the  future  !  "  f 

A  week  afterward,  on  the  20th  of  April,  Napo- 
leon left  Fontaiuebloau  for  Elba.  In  the  court- 
yard of  the  palace,  the  Old  Guard  was  drawn  up 


*  Constant's  "  M6moires,"  vol.  vi.,  p.  88.    Fain,  "  Man 
uscrit." 
t  Baussefs  "  M6moires,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  244. 


A  SOUL   IX    PURGATORY. 


301 


In  the  splendor  of  their  arms,  with  their  eagles 
and  banners.  Near  the  ranks  of  the  soldiers,  in 
front  of  the  main  portal,  stood  Bonaparte's  trav- 
elling-carriage, and  beside  it  the  foreign  commis- 
sioners. Before  setting  out,  he  wished  to  take 
leave  of  his  faithful  soldiers.  Advancing  into 
the  midst  of  the  Old  Guard,  he  addressed  them  in 
a  firm  voice :  "  Soldiers  of  my  Old  Guard,  I  bid 
you  adieu !  During  twenty  years  I  have  ever 
found  you  in  the  path  of  honor.  In  the  last 
i!;iys,  as  in  those  of  our  prosperity,  you  have 
never  ceased  to  be  models  of  bravery  and  fidelity. 
With  such  men  as  you  our  cause  could  never 
have  been  lost ;  but  the  war  would  never  end ;  it 
would  have  become  a  civil  war,  and  France  must 
daily  have  been  more  unhappy.  I  have,  there- 
fore, sacrificed  all  our  interests  to  those  of  our 
country :  I  depart ;  but  you  remain  to  serve 
France  Her  happiness  was  my  only  thought ;  it 


will  always  be  the  object  of  my  fervent  wishes. 
Lament  not  my  destiny :  if  I  have  consented  to 
survive  myself,  it  was  because  I  might  contribute 
to  your  glory,  Adieu,  my  children !  I  would  I 
could  press  you  all  to  my  heart ;  but  I  will,  at 
least,  press  your  eagle ! "  At  these  words,  Gen- 
eral Petit  advanced  with  the  eagle ;  Napoleon  re- 
ceived the  general  in  his  arms,  and,  kissing  the 
standard,  he  added  :  "  I  cannot  embrace  you  all, 
but  I  do  so  in  the  person  of  your  general !  Adieu, 
once  again,  my  old  companions  ! " 

The  veteran  soldiers  had  no  reply  but  tears  and 
sobs,  and,  stretching  out  their  hands  toward  Napo- 
leon, they  implored  him  to  stay.  But  the  carriage 
rolled  rapidly  across  the  court-yard,  bearing  into 
exile,  or  at  best  to  the  sovereignty  of  an  insig- 
nificant island,  a  man  who,  in  aiming  at  the  em- 
pire of  the  world,  had  subdued  almost  all  the 
kingdoms  of  Europe. 


THE     END 


D.  APPLETON  &   CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

LOUISA    MUHLBACH'S    HISTORICAL 
NOVELS. 

"  We  have  on  several  occasions,  in  noticing  the  works  of  the  great  German  authoress, 
Miss  Miihlbach,  expressed  our  admiration  of  them,  but  are  now,  after  much  careful 
reading  of  each  volume  as  it  has  come  from  the  press,  almost  constrained  to  pronounce 
them  matchless;  unrivaled  in  the  whole  domain  of  historical  romance."  —  Chicago 
Journal  of  Commerce. 

NAPOLEON    AND    THE     QUEEN    OF    PRUSSIA.       Illustrated.       8vo. 
Cloth,  $1.00. 

THE   EMPRESS  JOSEPHINE.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
NAPOLEON  AND  BLUCHER.    Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
QUEEN  HORTENSE.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
MARIE  ANTOINETTE  AND  HER  SON.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
PRINCE    EUGENE  AND    HIS  TIMES.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
THE   DAUGHTER  OF   AN  EMPRESS.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
JOSEPH  II   AND   HIS  COURT.    Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

FREDERICK    THE    GREAT     AND    HIS    COURT.      Illustrated.      8vo. 
Cloth,  $1.00. 

FREDERICK    THE    GREAT    AND    HIS    FAMILY.     Illustrated.     8vo. 
Cloth,  $1.00. 

BERLIN   AND   SAJTS-SOUCI.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
GOETHE   AND   SCHILLER.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

MERCHANT  OF  BERLIN  and  MARIA  THERESA  AND  HER  FIRE- 
MAN.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

LOUISA  OF  PRUSSIA  AND  HER  TIMES.    Illustrated.    8vo.    Cloth,  $1.00. 
OLD   FRITZ   AND   THE    NEW   ERA.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
ANDREAS  HOFER.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
MOHAMMED  ALI   AND   HIS   HOUSE.     Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

HENRY    VIII    AND    CATHERINE    PARR.      Illustrated.      8vo.      Cloth. 
$1.00. 


%  Bound  complete  in  6  volumes,  sold  by  set  only,  $12.00. 


New  York:   D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  1,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street 


D.  APPLETON  &  CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS, 


RHODA  BROUGHTON'S  NOVELS. 

"  I  love  the  romances  of  Miss  Broughton ;  I  think  them  much  truer  to  Nature  than 
Ouida's,  and  more  impassioned  and  less  preachy  than  George  Eliot's.  Miss  Broughton's 
heroines  are  living  beings,  having  not  only  flesh  and  blood,  but  also  esprit  and  soul ;  in  a 
word,  they  are  real  women — neither  animals  nor  angels,  but  allied  to  both." — ANDRE 
THECRIET  (the  French  Novelist). 

COMETH  UP    AS    A  FLOWER.     8vo.     Paper,  30  cents.      12mo.     Cloth, 
$1.00. 

NOT  WISELY,  BUT  TOO  WELL.     8vo.     Paper,  30  cents.     12mo.     Cloth, 
$1.00. 

NANCY.     8vo.     Paper,  50  cents.     12mo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

GOOD-BYE,  SWEETHEART !      8vo.      Paper,  30  cents.      12mo.      Cloth 
$1.00. 

RED  AS  A  ROSE  IS  SHE.     8vo.     Paper,  30  cents.     12mo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

JOAN.    8vo.    Paper,  50  cents. 

BELINDA.     12mo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

SECOND  THOUGHTS.     18mo.     Paper,  50  cents;  cloth,  Y5  cents. 

A  WIDOWER  INDEED.     By  EHODA  BKOTJGHTON  and  ELIZABETH  BISLAND. 
12rao.    Paper,  50  cents;  cloth,  $1.00. 


ROBERT  BUCHANAN'S  NOVELS. 

MASTER  OF  THE  MINE.     12mo.     Paper,  25  cents. 
MATT :  A  Tale  of  a  Caravan.     12ino.     Paper,  25  cents. 
THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  SWORD.     8vo.     Paper,  V5  cents. 


ANDRE  THEURIET'S  NOVELS. 

GERARD'S  MARRIAGE.     16mo.     Paper,  25  cents;  cloth,  60  cents. 

THE   GODSON   OF    A   MARQUIS.       16mo.      Paper,  25  cents;    cloth,  60 
cents. 

YOUNG  MAUGARS.     12mo.     Paper,  25  cents;  cloth,  60  cents. 

RAYMONDE.     18mo.     Paper,  30  cents. 

ALL  ALONE.     18mo.     Paper,  25  cents. 

ANTOINETTE.     18mo.     Paper,  20  cents. 

THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  TWO  BARBELS.     18rao.     Paper,  20  cents. 


New  York:  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  1,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
50c  t»er  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,  increasing 
to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


MAY  1  3 


50m-7,'16 


YC  01222 


U.C.BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CDMb7fl3flfll 


